The effect of cataract surgery on postural control.
OBJECTIVE
Falls are a significant cause of morbidity in the elderly. Because decreased vision is known to be a significant risk factor for falling in this age group, we sought to examine the effect of the removal of cataract, a major cause of visual handicap, on postural stability.


METHODS
Postural stability was measured in 23 patients who underwent cataract surgery, before and 1 to 4 months after surgery. Stability indices included Stability Effect, Fourier Spectrum of Postural Sway, and Synchronizations, and, based on these measurements, Falling Index, which had been shown in earlier studies to predict the risk of falling.


RESULTS
Visual acuity in the surgical eye significantly improved in all patients after surgery (P < 0.01) and did not change in the fellow eye. Stability improved in most patients (19/23) and Fourier Spectrum of Postural Sway improved in the high-frequency bands (above 0.5 Hz), when viewing with the surgical eye, but not when viewing with the nonsurgical eye (P < 0.05). By Falling Index, before surgery, 12 of 23 patients were at high risk of falling, and only six were at low risk. After surgery, 16 of 23 were at low risk and only three remained at high risk (chi(2) test, P < 0.008).


CONCLUSIONS
Cataract surgery significantly improves postural stability. Considering the high cost of treating fall-related injuries in the elderly, the findings may imply that cataract surgery is cost effective in this regard.
Schwartz
Shulamit
S
Department of Ophthalmology, Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre, Tel Aviv University, Zrifin 73000, Israel.
Segal
Ori
O
Barkana
Yaniv
Y
Schwesig
Rene
R
Avni
Isaac
I
Morad
Yair
Y
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity