Correlation Of Psychometric Personality Profile With Post-Refractive Surgery Visual Acuity, Visual Quality, And Quality Of Life

To correlate personality traits of patients planned for refractive surgery with postoperative patient satisfaction, visual quality and quality of life

Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Prospective interventional study of 46 patients (92 eyes) undergoing LASIK or SMILE. Personality traits were evaluated using Big Five Inventory questionnaire before surgery. Postoperative patient satisfaction, visual quality and quality of life were assessed with Quality of Life Impact of Refractive Correction (QIRC) questionnaire, Quality of Vision (QoV) questionnaire and Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) at 3 months.

Agreeableness was the most common personality trait (35.90%), neuroticism (8.70%) was least common. At 3 months, ‘conscientiousness’ and ‘extraversion’ traits significantly correlated positively with QLESQ (r=0.34, 0.36; p=0.02, 0.01) and QIRC score (r=0.31, 0.36; p=0.04, 0.01), and negatively with QoV scores of distortion (r=-0.31, -0.35; p=0.04, 0.02) and double images (r=-0.35, -0.4; p=0.03, 0.004). ‘Neuroticism’ showed significant negative correlation with QLESQ (r=0.355, p 0.015) and QIRC score (r=0.32, p=0.03), and positive correlation with QoV score for blurred vision (r=0.29; p-0.045). ‘Agreeableness’ and ‘openness to experience’ did not correlate with QLESQ, QIRC and QoV scores. Visual acuity was comparable in all grorups.

Postoperative visual quality, quality of life and patient satisfaction were least in neurotic personalities and higher in patients with conscientiousness and extraversion traits. Psychometric profile should be assessed during pre-operative refractive planning, and targeted counselling based on specific personality traits may help achieve optimal patient satisfaction.