Self-reported visual dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: results from the 25-Item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25)

Visual impairment is one of the most common clinical manifestations of Mult iple Sclerosis (MS), and is strongly related to overall health-related qual ity of life (HRQOL) in MS and other disorders. However, the assessment of v ision-specific HRQOL in patients with MS has been limited. The purpose of t his study was to examine self-reported visual dysfunction in a clinically h eterogeneous MS cohort using the 25-item Notional Eye Institute Visual Func tion Questionnaire (VFQ-25). The VFQ-25 was administered by telephone inter view to a subset of participants in a follow-up study to a phase ill trial of interferon P-fa for relapsing-remitting MS. Mean VFQ-25 composite scores and selected sub-scale scores were significantly lower (worse) among patie nts in our MS cohort (n=35) compared with a published reference group of pa tients with no history of chronic eye disease n=118). These differences wer e observed despite a relatively younger age and tighter distribution of bin ocular visual acuities in the MS cohort Patients with MS in this study thus demonstrated a greeter degree of self-reported visual dysfunction, as meas ured by the VFQ-25, compared with an eye disease-free reference group. The VFQ-25 is a potentially useful measure of vision-specific HRQOL in patients with MS.