Using the Effects of Youngsters’ Eyesight on Quality of Life Questionnaire to Measure Visual Outcomes in Children With Uveitis

The Effects of Youngsters’ Eyesight on Quality of Life (EYE‐Q) is a novel measure of vision‐related quality of life (QOL) and function in children. We aim to determine the validity of the EYE‐Q in childhood uveitis. We abstracted medical record data on arthritis and uveitis in a convenience sample of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and/or uveitis. In addition to the EYE‐Q, parents and patients completed questionnaires on overall QOL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory [PedsQL]), and physical functioning (Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire [C‐HAQ]). Among 57 children (8 JIA, 24 JIA and uveitis, 25 uveitis alone), 102 ocular examinations were performed within 1 month of completing questionnaires. Uveitis patients had bilateral disease (69%), anterior involvement (78%), synechiae (51%), and cataracts (49%). Children with vision loss in their better eye (visual acuity [VA] 20/50 or worse) had worse EYE‐Q (P= 0.006) and PedsQL (P= 0.028) scores, but not C‐HAQ scores. The EYE‐Q moderately correlated with logMAR VA (rs= −0.43), PedsQL (rs= 0.43), and C‐HAQ (rs= −0.45), but was not correlated with anterior chamber cells or intraocular pressure. The PedsQL and C‐HAQ did not correlate with VA or cells. There were strong correlations between the parent and child EYE‐Q (rs= 0.62). Cronbach's α for the child report was 0.91. The EYE‐Q had strong test–retest reliability (rs= 0.75). The EYE‐Q may be an important tool in the assessment of visual outcomes in childhood uveitis and an improvement over general measures in detecting changes in vision‐related function.