Spectacle wear in children reduces parental health-related quality of life.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether spectacle wear in children affects responses on the Intermittent Exotropia Questionnaire (IXTQ) or the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL).
METHODS: We recruited 49 children, median age 8 years (range, 5-13 years), presenting with visual acuity 20/40 or better and an otherwise-normal eye examination (no strabismus), who either had no refractive error (n=29) or had refractive error corrected with spectacles (n=20). The IXTQ and PedsQL were completed, each comprising a child report (Child IXTQ, Child PedsQL) and a parent proxy report (Proxy IXTQ, Proxy PedsQL). In addition, the IXTQ contains a parent self-report (Parent IXTQ). Each questionnaire is scored from 0 (worst health-related quality of life [HRQOL]) to 100 (best HRQOL). Median scores were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.
RESULTS: Child IXTQ and Proxy IXTQ scores were similar between groups; nevertheless, Parent IXTQ scores were lower for spectacle wearers (90.4 vs 97.1, p=0.01). Parent IXTQ questions that scored lower in the spectacle group were related to parental worry about permanent damage to their child's eyes, long-term eyesight, surgery, self-consciousness, and teasing. The PedsQL composite scores and all subscale scores were similar between spectacle wearers and nonspectacle wearers, both for Child PedsQL and Proxy PedsQL.
CONCLUSIONS: Parental HRQOL, measured with the use of the Parent IXTQ, was lower for children wearing spectacles than for children who did not wear spectacles. There was no difference between spectacle and no-spectacle groups when either Child IXTQ, Proxy IXTQ, Child PedsQL, or Proxy PedsQL was used.