Self-reported visual functioning and quality of life in age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW To review the current literature on the impact of age-related macular degeneration on self-reported visual functioning, quality of life, and independent living. RECENT FINDINGS The quantitative relationships between visual acuity, an objective clinical measure of vision, and self-reported visual functioning have been explored and described within prospective longitudinal clinical trials. When age-related macular degeneration is bilateral, the severe and irreversible loss of central vision experienced by affected persons has been shown to result in despondency, inability to care for self or others, and a state of disutility, which is equivalent to that experienced in coronary heart disease and stroke. SUMMARY Quality-of-life indicators and self-reported visual functioning have gained acceptance as key outcome measure in studies designed to test therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation strategies in age-related macular degeneration. Vision loss from age-related macular degeneration engenders a profound sense of loss and the resultant handicap has been likened to that of the most severe medical conditions.