TED severely impacts quality of life even when disease is stable

Even after acute thyroid eye disease (TED) symptoms have subsided, patients still feel the physical and psychosocial impacts of the disease, according to a study that found TED severely impacts patient quality of life (QOL).

Of the 100 patients who took part in an online survey on chronic TED symptoms and patient QOL, 34% reported a high prevalence of anxiety, and 28% reported experiencing depression. On average, patients reported 20 doctor visits per year.

Participants had undergone treatments including systemic corticosteroids during active TED (25%), orbital radiation (5%), and surgery (25%).

Overall Graves’ Ophthalmopathy QOL score, which takes into account overall; appearance; and vision-related QOL, was 60.5 ± 21.8. Hypothyroidism, anxiety, and more chronic TED symptoms were reported more frequently in patients with low QOL.

Patients with low QOL had more pain (39%), blurry vision (30%), and diplopia (27%) compared to patients with high QOL (13%, 17%, and 3%, respectively).

Participants with low QOL had more surgery related to TED, disability/unemployment, and doctor appointments.

Reference
Cockerham KP, Padnick-Silver L, Stuertz N, et al. Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Thyroid Eye Disease in the United States. Ophthalmol Ther. 2021;doi: 10.1007/s40123-021-00385-8. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34478126.