Early glaucoma without visual field loss shows minimal impact on life quality

Patients with preperimetric glaucoma, who have not yet experienced visual field loss, generally do not report a reduced quality of life compared to those without glaucoma, according to a study, suggesting that early treatment for such patients may not be necessary.

The study, part of the long-term Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS), examined the VRQoL of participants who developed primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) but did not yet show glaucomatous visual field (VF) loss, compared to those who did not develop glaucoma.

The study included 679 participants who completed a 20-year follow-up. Participants with preperimetric POAG, with no detectable VF loss, reported similar VRQoL scores to those who did not develop glaucoma. However, those with VF loss, particularly in both eyes, showed significantly reduced VRQoL.

Reference
Gordon MO, Gao F, Burkland J, et al. Quality of Life and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024;e243282. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.3282. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39207774; PMCID: PMC11362967.