To investigate the relationship between vision-related quality of life (QOL) and integrated binocular visual field (IVF) defect and the difference in QOL based on the location of visual field defects in Korean normal tension glaucoma (NTG) patients.

Two hundred monocular visual fields from 100 patients diagnosed with normal tension glaucoma in at least one eye were integrated using the best location method, and the mean deviation (MD) of whole, superior, and inferior IVF was calculated. We analyzed the correlations between subscales of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25 (NEI VFQ-25) and each calculated MD using Spearman correlation. After adjusting for confounding factors of age, visual acuity of the better eye, number of medications, and education level, the impact of IVF loss on the composite score of the NEI VFQ-25 was evaluated using multivariate linear regression analysis.

The MDs of whole and inferior IVF were significantly associated with 7 of 12 NEI VFQ-25 subscales, and the superior IVF was associated with 3 subscales ( p < 0.05). After adjusting confounding variables, the composite score of the NEI VFQ-25 showed significant correlation with whole, superior, and inferior IVF. The adjusted R² and β coefficient of the regression line were highest in the whole IVF (Adjusted R² = 0.451, β = 1.12), followed by the inferior and superior IVF (Adjusted R² = 0.438, 0.395, β = 0.95, 0.85).

The IVF of Korean NTG patients can effectively reflect patient QOL, and the inferior IVF was significantly associated with more subscales of NEI VFQ-25 than was the superior IVF. However, overall QOL of patients is thought to be determined by severity of visual field loss rather than its location.