Vision-Related Quality of Life and Association Between Retinal Parameters in Patients with Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy

Yufang Su,1,&ast; Gang Bai,2,&ast; Hong Tian,3,&ast; Song Zhang,4 Yingru Liu,1 Guisen Zhang,2 Lei Liu,5 Kang Chen6 1Department of Glaucoma, Baotou Chaoju Eye Hospital, Baotou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Glaucoma, Hohhot Chaoju Eye Hospital, Hohhot, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cataract, Baotou Kunlun Chaoju Eye Hospital, Baotou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Graduate School, China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China; 5Guangdong Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lei Liu; Kang Chen, Tel +86 13889378662 ; +86 13804999194, Email liuleijiao@163.com; akanger@sina.comPurpose: To evaluate visual-related quality of life (VR-QoL) and its association with optic nerve head microvasculature in individuals with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) evaluated at the acute stage.Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, 23 NAION eyes at the acute stage and 25 age and gender matched healthy eyes were included, respectively. All included eyes underwent a complete ophthalmic examination including optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA). The Chinese version of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (CHI-NEI-VFQ-25) was applied to assess VR-QoL in individuals consecutively visited at an ophthalmic center. Descriptive and analytic statistics were employed.Results: There were no significant differences on age, gender, socioeconomic and education level (P > 0.05), but best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) differences were reported between cases and controls (P < 0.05). Each peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness was higher but peripapillary vessel density (VD) and VR-QoL scores for all subscales were significantly lower in cases when compared with controls, respectively (P < 0.05). Particularly, pearson’s partial correlation analysis restricted to eyes with NAION revealed stronger correlations between peripapillary RNFL measurements, VD and VR-QoL.Conclusion: NAION at the acute stage affects VR-QoL in Chinese individuals. Some peripapillary RNFL measurements and VD correlated with VR-QoL. Retinal anatomic and blood flow examinations and inventions in patients with NAION are necessary to facilitate VR-QoL and disease control.Keywords: nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, CHI-NEI-VFQ-25, OCTA, OCT, quality of life