Sex- and age-based NEI VFQ-25 for middle-aged and older Japanese population

摘要

Purpose: The 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) is a questionnaire developed to measure health-related scales related to vision. A Japanese version of the questionnaire is also available. A variety of eye diseases result in a decrease in the NEI VFQ-25, while treatments result in improved scores. However, there have been very few reports on standards for sex- and age-based NEI VFQ-25 scores in the general population. Here, we investigated sex- and age-based NEI VFQ-25 scores for the middle-aged and older Japanese population. Methods: The subjects were 2,329 middle-aged and older people (1150 men, 1179 women; average age, 61 ?± 8.9 years) living in the regions located at the center of Japan who participated in the 7th National Institute for Longevity Sciences - Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA). Statistical testing was performed using Statistical Analysis System on the questionnaire scores and on corrected visual acuity of the fellow eye of the subjects categorized according to sex and age. Results: Scores for all subscales and component 7, or the total score, declined significantly as age increased. Further, women scored significantly lower than men for a??Ocular pain,a?? a??Distance vision,a?? a??Driving,a?? a??Color vision,a?? and a??Peripheral vision.a?? Corrected visual acuity of the fellow eye decreased significantly as age increased, but a significant sex-based difference was not observed. Conclusions: We showed sex- and age-based NEI VFQ-25 scores for middle-aged and older Japanese population. Considering for sex and age differences is important when analyzing these scores.