Abstract
Glaucoma is the third leading cause of blindness worldwide. In Canada, approximately 7.9% of seniors have glaucoma. Although researchers have investigated the effects of glaucoma on quality of life (QoL), none have investigated its impact on multiple aspects of QoL in a single sample. In the present study, we investigate the effects of glaucoma on four dimensions of QoL, namely, physical well-being, social well-being, emotionalwell-being, and development and activity. Participants included 16,369 seniors who completed the Healthy Aging Survey from the population-based Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Of this sample, 1,299 reported having glaucoma. Responses to 21 survey questions, each representing a single dimension of QoL, were analyzed. Collectively, these questions represented four dimensions of QoL. Responses to scaled questions from participants with glaucoma were compared to responses from the senior population using single sample t-tests. Responses to binary (yes/no) questions were analyzed using Chi square. Analyses indicated that compared to the population, participants with glaucoma scored poorer on questions representing social and emotional well-being as they reported more loneliness and less life satisfaction (all p< .05). Glaucoma affected numerous aspects of physical well-being as participants reported lower self-perceived health, less engagement in light sports recreation, and fewer hours per day of exercise and walking (all p< .05). Glaucoma also affected development and activity as compared those without glaucoma, a higher proportion of participants with glaucoma required assistance with personal care, house activities, transportation, and meal preparation or delivery (all p< .05). Also, participants with glaucoma drove less frequently (p< .05). Glaucoma affected four dimensions of QoL, yet most of the effects were reported for physical well-being, and development and activity. Specifically, participants with glaucoma felt less healthy and were less active than the senior population. They were also more likely to require assistance with aspects of daily life.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2018