The Impact of Anti–Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Treatment on Quality of Life in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose To assess the impact of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment in routine medical practice on vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Design Prospective case series. Participants A total of 169 patients with neovascular AMD undergoing anti-VEGF treatment. Methods The VRQoL interviews at baseline (n = 169), 6 months (n = 138), and 12 months (n = 120), routine anti-VEGF treatment with up to monthly follow-ups, and re-treatment as indicated. The Impact of Vision Impairment (IVI) questionnaire was subjected to Rasch analysis to assess its measurement performance and generate interval-level estimates of VRQoL at all time points, anchoring the instrument to its baseline measurement characteristics. Factors associated with a change in reported VRQoL were assessed using generalized linear regression models. Main Outcome Measures The VRQoL as measured by the IVI using its 3 subscales: Accessing Information, Mobility, and Emotional Well-being. Findings The mean age was 70 years (±6 years standard deviation [SD]); 56% were female. Visual acuity (VA) improved by a mean of 8 letters (±17 SD), and mean retinal thickness decreased by 87 (±89.7) μm with an average of 6.5 (±2.6) injections over 12 months. Those who lost >2 lines (n = 13, 11%) reported worse VRQoL at 12 months on the Accessing Information and Mobility subscales ( P = 0.007 and P = 0.050, respectively). Conversely, those who gained >2 lines (n = 29, 24%) reported better VRQoL on the Accessing Information and Emotional Well-being subscales ( P = 0.009 and P = 0.008, respectively). Patients who did not experience a change in VA reported no change in their VRQoL. In multivariate analyses, only a change in VA but not whether the better or worse eye was treated predicted a change in VRQoL on the Accessing Information ( P = 0.004) and the Emotional Well-being ( P = 0.008) subscales. Conclusions We confirmed that anti-VEGF treatment for neovascular AMD improves patients' VRQoL in those who gain vision and maintains VRQoL in those who maintain VA in their treated eye, irrespective of whether the worse or better eye is treated. Against this background, the best possible outcomes should be aimed for even if the worse eye is treated because a loss of VA in the worse eye will adversely affect patients' VRQoL.