title: Health-related quality of life after cataract surgery with the phacoemulsification technique and intraocular lens implantation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Disease-specific instruments have shown significant gains in measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in subjects having cataract surgery. However, the usage of generic instruments has resulted in conflicting evidence.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective study, we have evaluated the impact of cataract surgery on subjects' HRQoL measured with a 15-dimension generic instrument, the 15D. The HRQoL of cataract subjects was compared with that of an age- and gender-standardized sample of the general population in Finland. A total of 152 subjects (mean age 74 years, 66% females) with a first-eye cataract surgery completed the 15D questionnaire both before and 12 months after cataract surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When compared with the general population, cataract subjects had much lower HRQoL at baseline (mean difference 0.037 (95% CI: 0.020, 0.054), p < 0.001). At 12 months after cataract surgery, the overall utility index improved from the mean of 0.837 to 0.855 (mean difference 0.018 (95% CI: 0.007, 0.029), p = 0.002). Significant improvement was observed on the following five dimensions: seeing, moving, hearing, usual activities and discomfort/symptoms in the 15D questionnaire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicate that at 12 months after first-eye cataract surgery, patients' HRQoL is slightly better than that before surgery. However, patients' postoperative HRQoL may remain lower than that of an age-and gender-standardized control population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Operative Services, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.|Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.|Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Porela-Tiihonen
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Comparative Effectiveness and Patient Safety, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.|Research and Development, Group Administration, Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Risto P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Roine
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Hjelt Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sintonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaarniranta
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Operative Services, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.|Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Merja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kokki
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Operative Services, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.|Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kokki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002386:Cataract / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019591:Pseudophakia / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: cataract; cataract surgery; quality of life; quality-adjusted life years