Biomedical subjects

Eva Mönestam

Publications and source records attributed to Eva Mönestam.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Long-time results and associations between subjective visual difficulties with car driving and objective visual function 5 years after cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: To determine results and associations between subjective visual difficulties while driving and objective visual function in drivers who had cataract surgery 5 years previously. SETTING: Norrlands University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden. METHODS: This prospective outcomes study examined 189 active drivers who had cataract surgery 5 years earlier. Visual acuity and low-contrast visual acuity (LCVA) were measured, and a questionnaire with driving-specific questions (VF-14 based) was completed. The results were compared with data before and after surgery. RESULTS: Five years after cataract surgery, only a small proportion of patients (3%) drove without fulfilling the visual requirements. Few patients (5%) reported visual difficulties while driving in daylight, but a large proportion (43%) experienced difficulties in darkness, with glare being the most common problem. There was a statistically significant association between an LCVA of less than 20/50 and reporting subjective visual difficulties while driving (odds ratio [OR], 2.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 6.8). Women had 1.8 times the odds of reporting visual difficulties compared with men (95% CI, 1.0 to 3.5). CONCLUSIONS: Most active drivers had excellent visual acuity and no difficulty with daytime driving and distance estimation 5 years after cataract surgery. A large proportion of patients experienced difficulties while driving at night. These data suggest an adjusted association between LCVA and self-assessed visual difficulties while driving 5 years after cataract surgery. Our data confirm the importance of LCVA in relation to driving, especially in darkness.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Longitudinal changes in subjective and objective visual function 5 years after cataract surgery Prospective population-based study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the long-term outcomes of cataract surgery by analyzing data collected 5 years after surgery and comparing with preoperative and postoperative subjective and objective visual function results. SETTING: Norrlands University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal population-based cohort study comprised 810 patients who had cataract surgery during a 1-year period within a geographically defined area. Evaluated were visual acuity data and Visual Function-14 questionnaire (VF-14) results before and after surgery. Five years later, the 590 patients still alive were offered eye examinations and asked to fill out the questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 590 patients asked to participate at 5 years, 530 answered the questionnaire and 467 had eye examinations. The median VF-14 total score for all patients after surgery was 100; at 5 years, the score decreased to 96.7 (P = .001). Five years after surgery, 46% of patients had unchanged or better visual acuity in the operated eye, 37% had lost more than 0.1 logMAR unit, and 22% had a reduction in VF-14 score of 10 points or more. The two main reasons for the decline in visual acuity and VF-14 scores were age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) (47% and 60%, respectively) and glaucoma (12% and 11%, respectively). Age, co-morbidity, and VF-14 scores after surgery were independently associated with the VF-14 score 5 years after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Subjective and objective visual function 5 years after cataract surgery remained stable in most patients. Co-morbidity, most commonly ARMD, was the most frequent cause of deterioration of visual acuity and decrease in VF-14 scores. Age and co-morbidity were independently associated with the VF-14 score 5 years after surgery.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Impact of cataract surgery on the visual ability of the very old.

PURPOSE: To compare the functional outcome of cataract surgery in terms of visual ability between patients ages younger than 84 years, 85 to 89 years, and 90+ years. Survival time will be estimated at 4 years. DESIGN: Population-based, observational case series. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated elderly cataract patients' self-assessed visual ability regarding reading, TV viewing, orientation ability, activities of daily life, satisfaction, and visual acuity (VA) before and approximately 3 months after cataract surgery. All patients operated on during a 1-year period from our geographically defined admitting area that participated with a questionnaire were included (n = 837). Survival was checked after 4 years. RESULTS: Before surgery, the most elderly were significantly more dissatisfied with their visual function (P =.007). Seventy-six percent of 85+ improved their subjective ability to read, and two-thirds of those unable to read newspaper print were able to read after surgery. A total of 79% of 90+ experienced improved postoperative ability to manage their daily lives. Best-corrected VA (BCVA) improved in 94% (90+ years of age), 90% (85 to 89 years of age), and 97% (younger than 84 years of age), respectively. After surgery, VA was significantly worse with increasing age, also after adjustment for ocular comorbidity (P <.0001). Patients with a BCVA improvement of less than 0.3 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution units, patients with comorbidity, and patients aged 90+ had approximately 3 times the odds of being dissatisfied with vision after surgery. A total of 43% of 90+ years and 62% of 85 to 89 years were alive 4 years after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients aged 85 and older had improved visual ability, acuity, and satisfaction after cataract surgery. In terms of visual function, surgery of significant cataracts in the very old is beneficial also when life expectancy is taken in account.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Change of subjective visual function in first-eye cataract patients when the rate of surgery increases in a population.

BACKGROUND: The increasing demand for cataract surgery has stimulated interest in outcome research and the potential public health impact of the intervention. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of an increased rate of first-eye cataract surgery on visual acuity (VA) and subjective visual ability/disability, before and after surgery, in a geographically defined population. RESEARCH DESIGN: A prospective, observational study. SUBJECTS: All patients who had first-eye cataract extraction at one clinic during two separate 1-year periods. Five hundred seventy-six patients had surgery in 1997, and 353 had surgery in 1992 (17.2 and 10.6 per 1000 population 65 and older, respectively). MEASURES: Best-corrected VAs were measured, and the patients answered self-administered questionnaires, before and after surgery. The questionnaires focused on the patients' subjective difficulties performing some common vision-dependent activities, such as reading, television-viewing, orientation, etc. RESULTS: In 1997 compared with 1992 the VA of the eye to be operated was on average better (chi2 for trend; P<0.0001), and the subjective visual disability was less before surgery (mean disability index 6.9 vs. 7.5; P<0.0001). There was also a smaller percentage of mature cataracts (15% vs. 23%; P<0.0001). After surgery the VA of the operated eye was better in 1997 (chi2 for trend; P<0.001), but there was no difference in improvement of subjective visual ability, nor change in subjective visual disability, compared with 1992. The patients' expectations and actual postoperative improvement of their ability to cope with daily life were higher in 1997 (chi2 for trend; P<0.0001 and P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A higher frequency of first-eye cataract surgery in a population was before surgery associated with an on average better VA of the eye to be operated, a less perceived visual disability regarding some common vision-dependent activities, a lower percentage of mature cataracts and thus earlier surgery. Consequently, a higher rate of surgery would likely be associated with a lesser amount of visual impairment because of cataract in the population.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Associations between specific measures of vision and vision-related quality of life in patients with bothnia dystrophy, a defined type of retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between objective tests of visual function and vision-related quality of life in patients with Bothnia dystrophy (BD), a retinal dystrophy of retinitis pigmentosa type with progressive maculopathy. METHODS: Forty-nine patients were tested. Weighted distance logMAR visual acuity (WVA), weighted logMAR low contrast VA (WCS), and binocular visual field (VF) areas were calculated. Vision-related quality of life (VRQL) was assessed using the 25-item National Eye Institute-Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25). Correlation statistics were used and adjusted analyses of the relationship between the composite score and the objective visual function tests were performed with multiple linear regression. RESULTS: VRQL was significantly correlated with age, WVA, WCS, and binocular VF areas (P < 0.001). Calculation of partial correlation coefficients showed age to be significantly correlated only with VF (V-4-e) area (P < 0.0001). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed age and WVA to be significantly associated with the NEI-VFQ-25 composite score (P < 0.02 and P = 0.001, respectively). WVA alone was the strongest predictor of self-reported experience of total visual function in BD patients (r 2= 0.69). CONCLUSIONS: A strong relationship between objective tests of visual function and patient perceived VRQL as assessed by a questionnaire was found. WVA was the strongest predictor and together with age explained almost 70% of the variability of the composite score of the questionnaire.

Adolescent↗