DVS and quality of life
In the latest issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Wagle and associates present interesting new information about the negative impact symptomatic degenerative vitreous floaters have on the quality of life of sufferers.
As Sebag notes in his discussion article in the same edition, investigators found that these patients were willing to take an 11% risk of death and a 7% risk of blindness to get rid of symptoms related to floaters.
Using an objective qualitative measure called Utility Value, patients in the study expressed that floaters have a similar or higher impact than the ocular diseases of AMD, retinopathy and glaucoma as well as the systematic diseases of mild angina, mild stroke, colon cancer, and asymptomatic HIV.
They also found that Utility values did not improve for patients who had had the condition for a long time. This tallies with the anecdotal evidence sufferers have long been posting in support forums and the results of our survey where only 2% of respondents felt their floaters had improved over time, while 78% thought they had got worse.
Frequently sufferers report that they are treated dismissively, even told that they are imagining their symptoms. People are almost invariably told that things will improve after a few years. This study we hope, will give primary carers pause for thought when they counsel patients at time of diagnosis.
References
- Wagle AM, Lim W-Y, Yap T-P, Neelam K, Au Eong K-G. Utility values associated with vitreous floaters. Am J Ophthalmol 2011;152(1):60–65.
- J. Sebag Floaters and the Quality of Life. Am J Ophthalmol 2011;152(1): 3-4.e1
