Patient-reported vision-related quality of life differences between superior and inferior hemifield visual field defects in primary open-angle glaucoma

IMPORTANCE: Previous studies have found that glaucoma is associated with impaired patient-reported vision-related quality of life (pVRQOL) but few, to our knowledge, have assessed how the visual field (VF) defect location impacts the pVRQOL. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of VF defects in the superior vs inferior hemifields with pVRQOL outcomes in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective cross-sectional study at a tertiary referral center from March 1, 2012, to January 1, 2013, including patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who had a best-corrected visual acuity in the better eye equal to or better than 20/60 and reliable VF tests. The pVRQOL was assessed by a validated Taiwanese version of the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire. Reliable VF tests obtained within 3 months of enrollment were transformed to binocular integrated VF (IVF). The IVF was further stratified by VF location (superior vs inferior hemifield). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The association between each domain of the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire and superior or inferior hemifield IVF was determined using multivariable linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The analysis included 186 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma with a mean age of 59.1 years (range, 19-86 years) and IVF mean deviation (MD) of -4.84 dB (range, -27.56 to 2.17 dB). In the multivariable linear regression analysis, the MD of the full-field IVF showed positive associations with near activities (β = 0.05; R² = 0.20; P < .001), vision-specific role difficulties (β = 0.04; R² = 0.19; P = .01), vision-specific dependency (β = 0.04; R² = 0.20; P < .001), driving (β = 0.05; R² = 0.24; P < .001), peripheral vision (β = 0.03; R² = 0.18; P = .02), and composite scores (β = 0.04; R² = 0.27; P = .005). Subsequent analysis showed that the MD of the superior hemifield IVF was associated only with near activities (β = 0.04; R² = 0.21; P < .001) while the MD of the inferior hemifield IVF was associated with general vision (β = 0.04; R² = 0.12; P = .01), vision-specific role difficulties (β = 0.04; R² = 0.20; P = .01), and peripheral vision (β = 0.03; R² = 0.17; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Superior hemifield IVF was strongly associated with difficulty with near activities. Inferior hemifield IVF impacted vision-specific role difficulties and general and peripheral vision. The impact of a VF defect on a patient's pVRQOL may depend not only on its severity, but also on its hemifield location.