Purpose: This study examines the relationship between quality of life (QOL) and the legal Japanese grade of visual impairment as defined by the Physically Disabled Persons Welfare Act.
Methods: Participants of this cross-sectional study were 98 Japanese patients legally classified as visually impaired, from six ophthalmology departments. Vision-related QOL was evaluated using the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25). The short Japanese version of this questionnaire (VFQ-J11) score was calculated from the VFQ-25 results for each participant. Health utility was measured using the EuroQoL Index (EQ-5D). Data were collected for age, gender, vision-disability level, the corrected visual acuity of each eye, and disease type.
Results: The mean age was 66.8 years (SD = 17.8). Visual impairment grade was significantly associated with VFQ-J11 score and the composite score developed from the VFQ-25 (p < 0.001), but not with the health utility score obtained from the EQ-5D.
Conclusions: In general, the Japanese legally designated grading system for visual impairment reflects the degree of vision-related QOL, but does not reflect general health utility as determined by the EQ-5D.
Keywords: Grade; Quality of life; Visual impairment.