Quality of life associated with unilateral and bilateral good vision

Objective: To ascertain with patient preference-based methodology whether individuals with good visual acuity (20/20-20/25) in one eye have the same quality of life as individuals with good vision in both eyes. Design: Cross-sectional comparative study, Participants: Consecutive patients seen in comprehensive ophthalmic and vitreoretinal practices with known ocular disease and good visual acuity (20/20 or 20/25) in one or both eyes. Methods: Standardized patient interview, Main Outcome Measures: Time tradeoff and utility analysis values. Results: The mean time tradeoff utility value in 81 patients with good visual acuity in one eye was 0.89 (standard deviation, 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.93), whereas the mean value in 66 patients with good vision in both eyes was 0.97 (standard deviation, 0.05; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-0.99). The difference between the means of the utility values in these two groups was significant using multiple linear regression (P = 0.001). Conclusions: From the patient preference-based point of view, individuals with ocular disease and good visual acuity in both eyes appear to have a higher time tradeoff utility value, and thus a better associated quality of life, than those with good visual acuity in only one eye. (C) 2001 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.