Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of diabetic macular oedema (DME) on the quality of life (QOL) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: The study was a prospective, consecutive, non-comparative case series. An observational study evaluated the quality of vision and vision-specific QOL using the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25). Mean VFQ-25 subscale scores in type 2 diabetic study patients were compared with mean VFQ-25 subscale score in groups of patients with type 1 diabetic retinopathy (T1DR) and varying degrees of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), glaucoma and cataracts and in reference populations.

Results: Thirty-three patients completed the NEI VFQ-25. The mean age of the study population was 64 years. When performing a comparison of those patients with DME versus those with isolated T1DR we found that for the general health subscale, the DME versus T1DR group means were 42±4.4 versus 61±1.0 respectively. The DME versus T1DR quality of vision categorical mean scores were 69±4.1 versus 93±3.9. The DME versus T1DR VR-QOL categorical mean scores were 62±5.0 versus 93±1.0. The DME group was significantly worse in each of these three categories compared with the T1DR group (p<0.01). An additional analysis was performed to examine the differences in VR-QOL in the DME group versus varying common ocular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), glaucoma, cataracts and disease-free reference groups. The mean values of VFQ-25 subscale in the DME group were significantly lower then the glaucoma group in ten of 12 subscales, the cataract group in 11 of 12 subscales, and the reference group in 12 of 12 subscales. However, the mean values of VFQ-25 subscale in the DME group were only significantly different from the ARMD group in three of 12 subscales.

Conclusions: Type 2 diabetes patients with macular oedema experience a decreased VR-QOL compared with type 1 diabetic patients with diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or cataracts. However, VR-QOL in type 2 diabetic patients with macular oedema was similar to those individuals with ARMD.