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Self-reported visual dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: results from the 25-Item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25)

Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Monika L Baier

Department of Biostatistics, AMC Cancer Research Center, Denver, Colorado, USA

Amy M Kunkle

Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Richard A Rudick

Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Bianca Weinstock-Guttman

Department of Neurology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA

Nancy Simonian

Biogen, Fourteen Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, MA 02142, USA

Steven L Galetta

Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Gary R Cutter

Department of Biostatistics, AMC Cancer Research Center, Denver, Colorado, USA

Maureen G Maguire

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Department of Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Visual impairment is one of the most common clinical manifestations of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and is strongly related to overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in MS and other disorders. However, the assessment of vision-specific HRQOL in patients with MS has been limited. The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported visual dysfunction in a clinically heterogeneous MS cohort using the 25-Item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25). The VFQ-25 was administered by telephone interview to a subset of participants in a follow-up study to a phase III trial of interferon ß-1a for relapsing-remitting MS. Mean VFQ-25 composite scores and selected sub-scale scores were significantly lower (worse) among patients in our MS cohort (n=35) compared with a published reference group of patients with no history of chronic eye disease (n=118). These differences were observed despite a relatively younger age and tighter distribution of binocular visual acuities in the MS cohort. Patients with MS in this study thus demonstrated a greater degree of self-reported visual dysfunction, as measured by the VFQ-25, compared with an eye disease-free reference group. The VFQ-25 is a potentially useful measure of vision-specific HRQOL in patients with MS.

Key Words: vision • health-related quality of life • multiple sclerosis • MS • VFQ-25 • NEI-VFQ

Multiple Sclerosis, Vol. 6, No. 6, 382-385 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/135245850000600604


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