Strong Link Found Between Visual Symptoms and Quality of Life

The eyes can be a good indicator of a person's overall physical and mental health. Visual symptoms can aid a physician in correctly diagnosing other physical and mental problems. A recent study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology reveals that our eyes can tell us a lot about our health-related quality-of-life. Visual symptoms such as blurred vision and difficulty seeing are closely linked with physical and mental health. Specific eye diseases such as glaucoma and cataracts do not necessarily have a direct relationship to mental and physical health. This study confirms and extends the findings from previous studies. Participants in the study completed a survey which was directed towards their overall quality-of-life. The patients were all undergoing care given by a physician group practice association. The authors of the study wanted to determine if specific visual symptoms were associated with mental and physical health. The authors studied the gradual reduction in self-reported mental and physical health linked with diseases of the eye and their symptoms which included blurred vision and difficulty seeing. Difficulty seeing and blurred vision had significant and distinctive associations with poor scores on the mental health summary score of the survey. Respondents that only had trouble seeing had a unique association with the physical health summary score. Having an eye disease was not significantly associated with the scores. Andrea Schumann Staff Writer