Self-reported comorbidities and visual function in a population-based study: the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study

• Published in: Archives of ophthalmology (1960) Vol. 123; no. 6; p. 815
• Main Authors: Globe, Denise R, Varma, Rohit, Torres, Mina, Wu, Joanne, Klein, Ronald, Azen, Stanley P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.06.2005
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Comorbidity; Female; Health Status Indicators; Hispanic Americans - ethnology; Humans; Los Angeles - epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Self Disclosure; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vision Disorders - ethnology; Vision Disorders - physiopathology; Vision, Binocular - physiology; Visual Acuity - physiology; Visually Impaired Persons - statistics & numerical data; Los Angeles
• ISSN: 0003-9950
• DOI: 10.1001/archopht.123.6.815

To assess the association of self-reported systemic and ocular comorbid disease and visual function in Latino subjects. National Eye Institute 25-item Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) and eye examination data were obtained from 5380 participants in the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study, a population-based prevalence study of eye disease in Latino subjects 40 years and older. We developed and contrasted 5 comorbidity measures. One-way analysis of variance was used to assess the association between comorbidity and visual impairment and self-reported visual function. Regression analyses determined the association of sociodemographic variables, clinical variables, and the best measure of comorbidity with the NEI-VFQ-25 composite score. The main outcome measure was self-reported visual function as assessed by the NEI-VFQ-25 composite score. On average, visual function subscale scores were lowest for those participants with the most systemic comorbid conditions (P<.05). This was more evident in participants with moderate or severe visual impairment compared with those with mild or no visual impairment (P<.05). Self-reported systemic comorbidities were associated with self-reported visual function. This association was greater at more severe levels of visual impairment. Of the 5 comorbidity measures assessed, the measure that summed the number of self-reported systemic comorbidities correlated most with self-reported visual function.