Effect of cataract surgery on cognitive function in older adults.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether cataract surgery has an effect on cognitive function in older adults.


METHODS
Longitudinal.


METHODS
Assessment of patients seen in eye clinics.


METHODS
Patients with no cataract (n=92), patients with cataract who elected surgery (n=122), and patients with cataract who declined surgery (n=87).


METHODS
At baseline and 1-year follow-up visits, the following information was obtained: demographic, health behavior, general health status, medication use, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, and visual function information. This information was compared within and between groups at baseline and follow-up visits.


RESULTS
Mattis Organic Mental Syndrome Screening Examination scores at baseline and follow-up varied across the three groups, with the cataract/no surgery group having the highest scores (more cognitive impairment) and the no-cataract group having the lowest scores (less cognitive impairment). For the within-group analysis, at follow-up, the cataract/no surgery group and the cataract/surgery group had significantly less cognitive impairment (P<.001), whereas the no-cataract group experienced no change. For those with cataract, there were no associations between changes in visual function and cognitive function.


CONCLUSIONS
Improvement in cognitive function may occur after cataract surgery but cannot be attributed to the cataract surgery per se or to improved visual function. Clinicians may find this information useful when discussing the nonvisual outcomes of cataract surgery with patients.
Hall
Tyler Andrew
TA
Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA.
McGwin
Gerald
G
Owsley
Cynthia
C
D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States