Which quality of life score is best for glaucoma patients and why?

Philip Severn¹ , Scott Fraser¹ , Tracy Finch² and Carl May²

¹Sunderland Eye Infirmary, Queen Alexandra Road, Sunderland, SR2 9HP, UK

²Institute of Health and Society, 21 Claremont Place, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AA, UK

author email corresponding author email

BMC Ophthalmology 2008, 8:2doi:10.1186/1471-2415-8-2


Published:	23 January 2008

Abstract

Background

The glaucomas are generally asymptomatic diseases until they are very advanced. They affect 2% of the population over 40 years of age and therefore represent a significant public health issue. There have been a number of attempts to develop quality of life scales for the disease. This review discusses the pros and cons of these scales and suggests the best of the current ones for use in a clinical setting.

Methods

Medline, Embase and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles. No time period was defined and all types of article were included.

Results

11 Quality of Life scores were identified that have been used with glaucoma patients.

Conclusion

There is no generally accepted 'best' Quality of Life instrument for use in glaucoma. Many of the scales are biased towards physical symptoms and do little to address the personal or social factors of the disease. Further work is needed to produce scales that address all these areas as well as being simple to administer in a clinical setting.