Presbyopia: Difference in Quality of Life According to Gender and Education

Abstract

Presbyopia develops gradually, affecting the eye's ability to focus on nearby objects. In general, visual impairments can reduce an individual's quality of life by limiting learning opportunities and independence. This study aims to gather empirical evidence on how quality of life varies among people with presbyopia, taking into account factors such as gender and level of education. Seventy-eight adults completed the National Eye Institute 39-Question Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-39). Analysis based on gender shows that in most aspects the differences between male and female respondents are not statistically significant. However, an exception was found in the subscale measuring dependence on help from others, which showed a significant difference (p<0.05). Specifically, in this sample, men with presbyopia perceived their quality of life as significantly lower in terms of independence in daily life. Using the ANOVA test, it was determined that the level of education of the respondents significantly affects their responses to five subscales: general health (F=5.265, df=2, p<0.007), distance activities (F=7.025, df=2, p<0.002), social functioning (F=4.011, df=2, p<0.05), role difficulties (F=3.131, df=2, p <0.05), and dependency (F=5.029, df=2, p<0.009). In conclusion, our research showed that the gender of presbyopic patients is not correlated with quality of life, while the level of education significantly affects different aspects of their quality of life.