Reduced health-related quality of life among Japanese college students with visual impairment

Background: Although previous studies have shown detrimental effects of visual impairment on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), they were primarily conducted on elderly individuals with visual impairment. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate if HRQOL is impaired in young college students with visual impairment and to explore the relationships between HRQOL and other factors. It was hypothesized that visual impairment is not influential enough to lower the HRQOL of young people due to their better physical fitness and more flexible mentality. Methods: A total of 21 college students (mean age = 25 years old) with varying degrees of visual impairment completed the short form (SF)-36 health survey and questionnaires on daily physical activities. Subjects were grouped depending on the type of visual impairment: blind (n = 11) or severely impaired (n = 10). In addition, grip strength and single-leg standing balance were assessed. Results: No between-group differences were found in the SF-36 scores. However, compared to the general Japanese standards (50.0 +/- 10.0), the Vitality scores of the blind group were lower (41.9 +/- 7.2, p = 0.004) and the Physical Function scores of the severely impaired group were higher (55.3 +/- 2.4, p = 0.001). In addition, a negative correlation was found between standing balance (variability of foot center of pressure) and the Physical Component Summary score of the SF-36 (r(2) = 0.35, p = 0.005). Conclusions: These findings suggest that even among young people severe visual impairment leads to reductions in some components of HRQOL.