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Changes in Quality of Life after LASIK for myopia

  1. Presented in Fort Lauderdale, April 2004, sponsored by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Published in Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 44: 1360

  2. Presented in Cambridge, July 2004, sponsored by AVA / BCOVS. Published in Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2004;24;151-152.

E. Garamendi1, K. Pesudovs2 and D.B. Elliott1.

1 Optometry, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom
2 Optometry, UH College of Optometry, Houston, TX

Commercial Relationships: E. Garamendi, None, K. Pesudovs, None, D.B. Elliott, None.

Grant Identification: None

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare the quality of life (QoL) of pre–presbyopic myopic subjects before and after LASIK refractive surgery.

Methods: Sixty–six subjects (mean age ± 1SD: 30.3 ± 4.6; range 21 to 39 years) completed the validated Quality of Life Impact of Refractive Correction (QIRC) questionnaire before and at least three months (4.25 ± 1.5 months) after LASIK refractive surgery for myopia. QIRC consists of 20 questions associated with refractive correction–related quality of life with a 5–category response scale. Scale responses were assigned weightings from Rasch analysis of 312 subjects (spectacles or contact lens wearers or post–refractive surgery subjects) from the original validation study. This created true linear measurement from categorical data. Higher QIRC scores represent better QoL. Subjects were also asked if their QoL had improved after surgery.

Results: Pre–operative mean spherical refractive error was –3.36 ± 1.86 DS and –3.34 ± 1.74 DS in the right and left eyes respectively. Mean ± 1SD QIRC scores improved after LASIK from 40.09 ± 4.33 to 52.09 ± 6.02 (F1,130 =172.65, p<0.0001). The majority of the individual questions also showed significantly improved scores. Subjects who ‘strongly agreed’ (53.96 ± 4.91, N=33) or ‘agreed’ (51.78 ± 6.19, N=23) that their QoL had improved after surgery has significantly higher (F1,60 = 11.24, p<0.01) QIRC scores than those who ‘neither agreed nor disagreed’ (44.36 ± 4.97, N=5) or ‘strongly disagreed’ (42.82, N=1) . Three subjects (4.5%) had lower QIRC scores post–operatively.

Conclusions: Large improvements in self–reported quality of life were found after LASIK surgery for myopia in the majority of pre–presbyopic subjects although a small number of subjects (4.5%) had a decreased QoL score. Pre–operative LASIK subjects had lower self–reported QoL than previously reported data from contact lens wearers (46.7 ± 5.5) and spectacle wearers (44.1 ± 5.9) from an optometric practice population.

Key Words: refractive surgery • quality of life • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications

 

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