Table 2.
Characteristics of patients in quality-of-life terciles, as measured using the thyroid eye disease-specific GO-QOL instrument
| Overall GO-QOL score | Low QOL ≤ 50 (n = 33) |
Middle QOL > 50 and < 75 (n = 37) |
High QOL ≥ 75 (n = 30) |
p-value (low vs. high) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female, n (%) | 15 (45%) | 20 (54%) | 12 (40%) | 0.800 |
| Caucasian, n (%) | 23 (70%) | 31 (84%) | 27 (90%) | 0.064 |
| Patient age, mean ± SD, years | 43.8 ± 6.6 | 46.6 ± 8.6 | 44.9 ± 7.2 | 0.528 |
| TED duration, mean ± SD, years | ||||
| Total TED duration | 7.0 ± 6.9 | 4.6 ± 4.8 | 5.8 ± 6.0 | 0.473 |
| Active/acute TED duration | 2.6 ± 2.3 | 2.7 ± 2.9 | 2.8 ± 2.2 | 0.729 |
| Inactive/chronic TED duration | 4.4 ± 6.0 | 1.9 ± 3.0 | 3.0 ± 4.3 | 0.299 |
| Patient-reported thyroid hormone levels, n (%) | ||||
| Normal | 18 (55%) | 18 (49%) | 27 (90%) | 0.002 |
| Too low | 6 (18%) | 8 (22%) | 0 (0%) | 0.025 |
| Too high | 9 (27%) | 11 (30%) | 3 (10%) | 0.112 |
| Disabled/unemployed, n (%) | 7 (21%) | 6 (16%) | 1 (3%) | 0.055 |
| Mental health issuea, n (%) | 18 (55%) | 16 (43%) | 8 (27%) | 0.040 |
| Anxiety | 16 (48%) | 13 (35%) | 5 (17%) | 0.009 |
| Depression | 12 (36%) | 10 (27%) | 6 (20%) | 0.174 |
| Number of doctor visits/person/yearb | ||||
| Mean ± SD | 40.2 ± 46.3 | 13.5 ± 15.2 | 4.8 ± 4.9 | < 0.001 |
| Median (range) | 14 (2 − 160) | 7 (1 − 60) | 4 (1 − 24) | –– |
| Patients with a history of TED-related procedurec, n (%) | 15 (45%) | 9 (24%) | 3 (10%) | 0.002 |
| Number of chronic TED signs/symptoms, mean ± SD | 4.2 ± 2.5 | 3.5 ± 2.0 | 2.2 ± 1.2 | < 0.001 |
| Pain behind the eyes, n (%) | 13 (39%) | 8 (22%) | 4 (13%) | 0.025 |
| Light sensitivity, n (%) | 12 (36%) | 11 (30%) | 4 (13%) | 0.046 |
| Blurry vision, n (%) | 10 (30%) | 10 (27%) | 5 (17%) | 0.024 |
| Diplopia, n (%) | 9 (27%) | 4 (11%) | 1 (3%) | 0.014 |
Quality of life measured at the time of survey during chronic TED. Two-tailed p-values calculated with unpaired t-tests for continuous variables and Fisher’s exact tests for categorical variables
aIncludes patients who reported anxiety and/or depression
bReported for the 12 months prior to survey
cIncludes orbital decompression, strabismus surgery, eyelid surgery, cosmetic surgery, and orbital radiation. QOL, quality of life