This presentation is part of: Poster Session - Public Health; Methodological Advances
QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG PEOPLE WITH SELF-REPORTED VISION PROBLEMS IN THE US. BRFSS, 2002
Sanjat Kanjilal, MPH, Gloria Beckles, MD, MSc, K.M Venkat Narayan, MD, MPH, MBA, and Jinan Saaddine, MD. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Diabetes Translation, Atlanta, GA
Purpose: To describe the quality of life (QOL) of people who self-reported vision problems and to compare it with the QOL of people who self-reported other health problems. Methods: We analyzed the 2002 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. The BRFSS is a state-based annual ongoing telephone survey of the civilian non-institutionalized population, ages 18 and older. In 2002, 83,949 people were interviewed in the 20 states that used an optional module consisting of 11 questions about QOL. The analysis was restricted to the 365 people who reported vision problems (VP) to be their primary health concern, and the 14,812 individuals that self-reported one disease out of a list of 13 (e.g. hearing problems, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.) as their primary health concern. Data were analyzed in SAS-callable SUDAAN in order to take into account the complex sampling scheme of the survey. Logistic and linear regression models were run with the QOL indicators as dependant variables. Results: The VP group was older and less employed than the ‘Other Health Problem’ (OHP) group. For the QOL indicators, the VP group reported fewer days of pain (5.74 (SE: 1.09) vs. 11.17 (0.21), p<0.0001), and of not enough rest (7.37 (0.87) vs. 11.54 (0.20), p<0.0001) in the past month than the OHP group. The VP group also reported a longer duration of impairment (11.13 years (SE: 1.38) vs. 7.52 years (0.15), p=0.01) and a higher percent needing assistance with routine needs (47% (5.2%) vs. 30% (0.8%), p<0.01). There was no significant difference in the days of depression in the past month between the VP and OHP groups (6.63 (0.88) vs. 7.13 (0.18), p=0.67). Conclusions: Though people with vision problems have a better quality of life than those who report a range of other health problems, the difference between the two groups is not very large for many QOL indicators. This suggests that although vision problems in general are often perceived as not being as serious as other health conditions, they result in an equally high burden on quality of life. Further research quantifying the QOL burden in economic utility terms will allow health professionals and policy makers to accurately prioritize the growing problem of visual impairment among many other health conditions.
