Purpose: To determine vision-related quality of life (QoL) measured with the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ) and the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) in dry eye patients, and establish potential correlations with the Zung Self Rating Anxiety Scales (SAS), the Zung Self Rating Depression Scales (SDS), ocular surface parameters, and sociodemographic measures.

Methods: The comparative study included 87 dry eye patients and 71 healthy volunteers who visited the department of ophthalmology, Eye and Ear Nose and Throat (EENT) Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China, between June 2009 and December 2009. Surveys were administered to participants to evaluate their sociodemographic characteristics and disease-related factors. Data collected from the NEI-VFQ and OSDI survey instruments were analyzed to identify potential differences between the dry eye group and the control group. Correlations with sociodemographic characteristics, clinical parameters, and psychological status were evaluated.

Results: Compared with the control group, our patient group had lower (worse) NEI-VFQ scores for the subscales of general health, general vision, ocular pain, short distance vision activities, long distance vision activities, vision related social function, vision related mental health, vision related role difficulties, vision related dependency, and driving (all P < 0.05), and higher (worse) OSDI composite and subscale scores of ocular symptoms, vision-related function, and environmental triggers (all P < 0.001). Significant correlations were found between QoL scores and patient anxiety and depression levels.

Conclusions: Vision-related QoL in dry eye patients was impaired and was correlated with anxiety and depression, further implicating this condition as an important public health problem deserving increased attention and resources.