Effects of Vision Correction Status on Visual Functions (Vision-Specific Quality of Life) : Focusing on University Students

Purpose : This study aimed to analyze visual functions by vision correction status, by administering questionnaires about visual functions to undergraduates. Methods : The visual functions (vision-specific quality of life) of 290 undergraduates without eye diseases were evaluated by using the Korean version of National Eye Institute's Visual Functional Questionnaire(NEI-VFQ), from March to May, 2019. This study comparatively was analyzed by the differences in visual functions by the wearing purposes of glasses or contact lens. Results : The group that did not need any correction scored 94.17 on the item of visual function, while the one that needed correction scored 85.33. The former showed the highest scores on each item but the latter showed overall lower scores at the items of the general health and general vision, ocular pain and near vision and distance vision. The group that had no need for correction scored higher at VFQ-13, while the one that needed correction scored lower at all items other than near vision and role difficulties. Conclusion : The visual functions based on the status of visual correction for undergraduates showed that the group with uncorrected vision was poorer than the other group. In particular, the scores on the items general health and general vision were significantly worse for the group with uncorrected vision. The findings suggested that uncorrected vision has negative effects on the vision-specific quality of life.