Health & Medicine

Cataract Surgery Will Keep Elderly Injury-Free

Brooke Miller
First Posted: Aug 02, 2012 06:51 AM EDT

One of the latest study claims that elderly people may benefit from cataract surgery as it not only improves the vision but also reduces the risk of hip fractures and other injuries. 

The study was published in the August issue of the Journal of American Medical Association.

"Reduction in risk for hip fractures may help tip the scale in favor of cataract surgery," said study author Dr. Anne Coleman, professor of ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He also added saying, "Hip fracture is associated with decreased quality of life and increased risk of dying," .You are never too old or too ill to consider cataract surgery to improve vision [and] quality of life and decrease your risk of hip fracture."

In order to proceed with the finding, the researchers collected data on over a million Medicare patients who belonged to the age group of 65 and above who were diagnosed with cataract. After accounting for factors such as age, cataract severity, and other illnesses, the results showed that patients who underwent eye surgery to remove their cataracts had 16 percent fewer hip fractures, compared to those who did not have the procedure. The benefit was even greater among those aged 80 to 84. For these patients, cataract surgery was associated with 28 percent fewer hip fractures.

The significance of this study is that it shows a link between older people's higher risk of falling making them more vulnerable to fractures of hip or other bones. Earlier studies done have shown how vision loss is a major factor that contributes to the risk of elderly people having such accidents.  Decline in visual sharpness and depth perception decline causes people to lose their ability to maintain balance, stability and mobility. 

"This really does make complete sense and documents nicely what we have always said: Any improvement in vision that can be accomplished easily in an elderly patient would be expected to reduce the risk of falling and therefore of fractures especially hip fractures," said Dr. Ethel Siris, director of the Toni Stabile Osteoporosis Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Hip fractures are a major health concern with over 300,000 cases reported annually in the U.S., often devastating an older person's independence. The study authors stress the importance of cataract surgery to improve visual function and increase quality of life.

Dr. Mark Fromer, an ophthalmologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City concludes saying, "Some people wait much too long for cataract surgery, and this puts the elderly at risk for a hip fracture or falling. The better you see, the better you ambulate. Elderly people are more fragile, so if they don't see a step or an elevation and trip, that could be a death sentence. Cataract surgery takes less than 10 minutes and can dramatically alter a person's lifestyle."

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