Sidhu, Sophia, Lynch, Anne M, Mandava, Naresh, Manoharan, Niranjan, Mathias, Marc T, and Patnaik, Jennifer L
To examine gender differences in visual functioning using the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25 (VFQ-25) in a Colorado cohort of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A retrospective cohort study was conducted using a registry of AMD patients who attended the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center (2014 to 2019). Demographic, clinical, and image data were collected, and AMD was categorized as Early/Intermediate AMD, or unilateral/bilateral neovascular (NV) AMD, geographic atrophy (GA), or Both Advanced using the Beckman Classification. Each patient completed the VFQ-25, which evaluates visual functioning, generating a composite score and subscale scores for vision-specific activities. Univariate and multivariable general linear models were used to estimate the associations between gender and VFQ-25 scores with parameter estimates (PE) and standard errors (SE). Among 739 patients with AMD, 294 (39.8%), 115 (15.6%), 168 (22.7%), and 162 (21.9%) were diagnosed with Early/Intermediate AMD, GA, NV AMD, and Both Advanced, respectively. Adjusted for AMD classification, age and habitual visual acuity in the better-seeing and worse-seeing eyes, female gender was not significantly associated with lower composite VFQ-25 scores (PE (SE): −1.2 (0.9), p =.193), and was significantly associated with reportedly worse ocular pain and driving subscale scores (PE (SE): −4.6 (1.0), p <.0001 and −9.1 (2.1), p <.0001, respectively). Gender plays a role in reported driving activities and ocular pain among patients with AMD. This may need to be accounted for in future research related to the use of VFQ-25 for AMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]