Article Text
Abstract
Objective To investigate whether electronically measured medication adherence is associated with vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in patients with open-angle glaucoma.
Methods and analysis This is a 3-year prospective cohort study of 79 subjects with open-angle glaucoma at a Veterans Affairs medical centre. Participants returned a medication event monitoring system (MEMS) for their glaucoma eye-drops and had at least two visits with glaucoma during the study period. Those taking less than 80% of prescribed glaucoma medication doses were considered to be non-adherent. Subjects were interviewed using the National Eye Institute’s Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (VFQ-25) at baseline and after 3 years.
Results Thirty per cent (n=24/79) of participants took less than 80% of prescribed doses of their glaucoma medications at baseline. Patients who did not adhere to their medications at baseline had lower mean composite VFQ-25 scores at baseline (70.66±20.50 vs 75.91±19.12, standardised mean difference=0.27) and after 3 years (71.68±21.93 vs 76.25±21.67, standardised mean difference=0.21). Visual acuity (P=0.03), but not visual field severity (P=0.13) or medication adherence (P=0.30), was significantly associated with composite VFQ-25 score in an adjusted model.
Conclusions Subjects who were non-adherent to their glaucoma medications at baseline as assessed by a MEMS device reported lower VRQoL than adherent subjects at baseline and after 3 years. However, visual acuity was significantly associated with VRQoL. Future studies should assess whether improved adherence to eye-drops impacts VRQoL in patients with glaucoma.
- open angle glaucoma
- vision-related quality of life
- electronically measured medication adherence
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Footnotes
Contributors ACT: study design, data collection, manuscript preparation and revision, manuscript submission. SW: study design, statistical analysis, manuscript revision. MKO: study design, statistical analysis, manuscript revision. SD: study design, data collection. HBB: study design, manuscript revision. KWM: study design, data collection, manuscript revision.
Funding This research was funded by the VA Health Services Research & Development Career Development Award (VA HSR&D 10/019/2) (KWM) and the American Glaucoma Society Clinician Scientist Award (KWM). HBB is supported by a Senior Career Scientist Award (VA HSR&D 08/027).
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Not required.
Ethics approval The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and was compliant with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.