Health- and Vision-Related Quality of Life in a Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Methotrexate and Mycophenolate Mofetil for Uveitis

Purpose: To evaluate changes in health-related and vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) among patients with noninfectious uveitis who were treated with antimetabolites. Design: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Participants: Patients with noninfectious uveitis from India, the United States, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. Methods: From 2013 through 2017, 216 participants were randomized to receive 25 mg weekly oral methotrexate or 1.5 g twice daily oral mycophenolate mofetil. Median changes in quality of life (QoL) were measured using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and differences between treatment groups were measured using linear mixed models, adjusting for baseline QoL score, age, gender, and site. Among Indian patients, VRQoL scores from a general scale (the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire [NEI-VFQ]) and a culturally specific scale (the Indian Visual Function Questionnaire [IND-VFQ]) were compared using Pearson correlation tests. Main Outcome Measures: Vision-related QoL (NEI-VFQ and IND-VFQ) and health-related QoL (HRQoL; physical component score [PCS] and mental component score [MCS] of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Survey [SF-36v2]) were measured at baseline, the primary end point (6 months or treatment failure before 6 months), and the secondary end point (12 months or treatment failure between 6 and 12 months). Results: Among 193 participants who reached the primary end point, VRQoL increased from baseline by a median of 12.0 points (interquartile range [IQR], 1.0–26.1, NEI-VFQ scale), physical HRQoL increased by a median of 3.6 points (IQR, –1.4 to 14.9, PCS SF-36v2), and mental HRQoL increased by a median of 3.0 points (IQR, –3.7 to 11.9, MCS SF-36v2). These improvements in NEI-VFQ, SF-36v2 PCS, and SF-36v2 MCS scores all were significant (P < 0.01). The linear mixed models showed that QoL did not differ between treatment groups for each QoL assessment (NEI-VFQ, IND-VFQ, PCS SF-36v2, and MCS SF-36v2; P > 0.05 for all). The NEI-VFQ and IND-VFQ scores for Indian participants were correlated highly at baseline and the primary and secondary end points (correlation coefficients, 0.87, 0.80, and 0.90, respectively). Conclusions: Among patients treated with methotrexate or mycophenolate mofetil for uveitis, VRQoL and HRQoL improved significantly over the course of 1 year and did not differ by treatment allocation. These findings suggest that antimetabolites could improve overall patient well-being and daily functioning.