Patients with age-related macular degeneration face impairment in activities of daily living

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Age-related macular degeneration can lead to significant visual impairment in older individuals. These can significantly impact their day-to-day life, and understanding these limitations is crucial for healthcare providers. BACKGROUND: The aim of this work is to determine impairment of activities of daily living secondary to visual impairment caused by age-related macular degeneration in a South Indian population. METHODS: In this prospective cross-sectional study, the instrumental activities of daily living questionnaire was administered to participants with uniocular or binocular visual impairment due to age-related macular degeneration, and controls who did not have any significant ocular or retinal pathology. RESULTS: The study recruited 90 participants in each arm, where those with age-related macular degeneration were older. More participants with age-related macular degeneration (92.2%) had impairment with one or more activities of daily living as compared to controls (55.6%,p < 0.001). The age-related macular degeneration group faced a median of 4 (IQR 2-8) impairments and could perform 53.3% with difficulty, 39.4% with assistance and 7.3% activities could not be completed. In the age-related macular degeneration group, those with unilateral disease had 8.95-fold (p < 0.001) greater level of impairment, while those with bilateral disease has a 10.72-fold (p = 0.001) greater level of impairment as compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Visual impairment due to age-related macular degeneration has a significant impact on activities of daily living. The patients often need assistance in completing their activities. Care in age-related macular degeneration needs to involve rehabilitation and help in carrying out daily activities in addition to treatment for visual benefits.