Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17184527›Full record

SynthesisHealth and quality of life outcomes2006

Quality of life in age-related macular degeneration: a review of the literature.

Jan Mitchell, Clare Bradley

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Health and quality of life outcomes, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 136 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
136citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

136 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Quality of life in older adults with sensory impairments: a systematic review.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2018
    Pooled it
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  12. Interventions for age-related visual problems in patients with stroke.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012
    Pooled it
  13. Trial
  14. Vision-related quality of life: 12-month aflibercept treatment in patients with treatment-resistant neovascular age-related macular degeneration.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2017
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  17. Treatment of depression associated with age-related macular degeneration: a double-blind, randomized, controlled study.Annals of clinical psychiatry : official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists · 2011
    Trial
  18. Increased Attentive Use Is Linked to More Idiosyncratic Functional Connections.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

76 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Jan MitchellDepartment of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK. j.mitchell@rhul.ac.uk
Clare Bradley

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Age-related Macular Degeneration Alliance International commissioned a review of the literature on quality of life (QoL) in macular degeneration (MD) with a view to increasing awareness of MD, reducing its impact and improving services for people with MD worldwide.

methodA systematic review was conducted using electronic databases, conference proceedings and key journal hand search checks. The resulting 'White Paper' was posted on the AMD Alliance website and is reproduced here. REVIEW: MD is a chronic, largely untreatable eye condition which leads to loss of central vision needed for tasks such as reading, watching TV, driving, recognising faces. It is the most common cause of blindness in the Western world. Shock of diagnosis, coupled with lack of information and support are a common experience. Incidence of depression is twice that found in the community-dwelling elderly, fuelled by functional decline and loss of leisure activities. Some people feel suicidal. MD threatens independence, especially when comorbidity exacerbates functional limitations. Rehabilitation, including low vision aid (LVA) provision and training, peer support and education, can improve functional and psychological outcomes but many people do not receive services likely to benefit them. Medical treatments, suitable for only a small minority of people with MD, can improve vision but most limit progress of MD, at least for a time, rather than cure. The White Paper considers difficulties associated with inappropriate use of health status measures and misinterpretation of utility values as QoL measures: evidence suggests they have poor validity in MD.

conclusionThere is considerable evidence for the major damage done to QoL by MD which is underestimated by health status and utility measures. Medical treatments are limited to a small proportion of people. However, much can be done to improve QoL by early diagnosis of MD with good communication of prognosis and continuing support. Support could include provision of LVAs, peer support, education and effective help in adjusting to MD. It is vital that appropriate measures of visual function and QoL be used in building a sound evidence base for the effectiveness of rehabilitation and treatment.

Indexed as

Sickness Impact ProfileHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHealth StatusHumansMacular DegenerationPrognosisPsychometricsQuality of LifeSocial SupportSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID17184527
PMCPMC1780057

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.