Quality of life of eye amputated patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate eye-amputated patients' health-related quality of life, perceived stress, self-rated health, job separation because of illness or disability and socioeconomic position.
METHODS: Patients were recruited from a tertiary referral centre situated in Copenhagen. Inclusion criteria were eye amputation, i.e. evisceration, enucleation, orbital exenteration or secondary implantation of an orbital implant during the period 1996-2003, and participation in a previous investigation (2005). In total, 159 eye-amputated patients were included, and completed a self-administered questionnaire containing health-related quality of life (SF-36), the perceived stress scale and answered questions about self-rated health, job changes because of illness or disability and socioeconomic status. These results were compared with findings from the Danish Health Interview Survey 2005.
RESULTS: The eye-amputated patients had significantly (p < 0.05) lower scores (poorer health) on all SF-36 subscales and more perceived stress compared to the general population. In all, 43.3% of the patients rated their health as excellent or very good compared to 52.1% of the general population. In total, 25% of the study population has retired or changed to a part-time job because of eye disease. The percentage of eye amputated patients, who were divorced or separated, was twice as high as in the general population.
CONCLUSION: The impact of an eye amputation is considerable. The quality of life, perceived stress and self-rated health of many eye-amputated patients are drastically changed. Eye amputation has a marked negative influence on job separation because of illness or disability and on socioeconomic position.