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BACKGROUND: To evaluate the impact of structural changes of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and visual field loss, on functional impairment assessed by patient-reported visual functioning in glaucoma. METHODS: Patients with glaucomatous optic nerve damage were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Peripapillary RNFL thickness was obtained with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Function was assessed by patient-reported visual functioning using the Rasch-calibrated Glaucoma Activity Limitation 9 (GAL-9) questionnaire and standard automated perimetry. The impact of peripapillary RNFL loss on functional impairment was analyzed with correlation and linear regression analyses. RESULTS: A total of 176 eyes from 88 glaucoma patients were included. The SD-OCT assessed temporal-superior and temporal-inferior RNFL sector of the worse eye revealed significant correlation with the GAL-9 scores (r=-0.298, p=0.011 and r=-0.251, p=0.033, respectively). In mutivariate regression analysis, the best predictors for patient-reported visual functioning were visual acuity of the better eye and mean defect of the worse eye (R(2)=0.334), while structural parameters could not enhance the prediction of GAL-9 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported visual functioning of patients with glaucoma is better predicted by visual performance data than structural parameters. However, some structural changes of the worse eye are significantly correlated with patient-reported visual functioning.
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1.4 Quality of life (Part of: 1 General aspects)
6.9.2.2 Posterior (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.9 Computerized image analysis > 6.9.2 Optical coherence tomography)
6.6.2 Automated (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods > 6.6 Visual field examination and other visual function tests)