Estimating patient-reported outcomes for glaucoma management: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To identify important explanatory variables of four patient-reported outcomes (PROs): vision-related quality of life (VRQoL), preference-based health-related quality of life (HRQoL), social support and community integration and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study conducted at one ophthalmic practice in a hospital setting. Patients with a diagnosis of glaucoma or glaucoma suspect (n = 250) were sequentially recruited. Patients with language restrictions were excluded. Data were collected through medical chart reviews and face-to-face interviews. The PROs were measured using validated tools. Candidate models for predicting PROs from explanatory variables were constructed using linear and logistic regression, as well as classification and regression trees. Through leave-one-out cross-validation, the performance of each model was assessed in terms of mean absolute error.

RESULTS

Use of mobility aids, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), income, and living arrangements were most predictive of VRQoL, social support, and community integration. Use of mobility aids was also most predictive of the presence of depressive symptoms, and BCVA with preference-based HRQoL.

CONCLUSION

Although promising associations were discovered, the models based on commonly collected clinical variables had limited ability to accurately predict individual patient PROs. Thus, although this study identifies clinical and demographic variables that are most predictive of PROs, routine collection of PROs in clinical practice may be necessary to obtain a complete picture of the quality of life of glaucoma patients.