Cataract surgery can decrease hip fractures

A recent national study found that when seniors have cataract surgery not only is their vision improved, but they also lower their risk of falling and breaking a hip.  People in their 80s and those who have serious illnesses like heart disease are most likely to benefit: the research shows that these patients had about 30 percent fewer hip fractures in the year after they had cataract surgery. The study, published in the August edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

What is a cataract?

A cataract is a clouding of the natural internal focusing lens inside the eye, which is normally clear in youth, gradually developing density over a lifetime. Cataracts typically do not cause visual difficulty until a person’s late 60′s or beyond. However, early onset of cataracts (40’s-50’s) can happen due to exposure to ultraviolet light, physical injury and smoking.

Vision loss is a key reason for falling.

Other ophthalmology studies have found that vision loss is a key reason for seniors’ higher risk of falling. When cataracts and other aging eye problems decrease older people’s vision, they also lose the ability to maintain balance, stability and mobility.

Cataract surgery

Learn more about our cataract surgeons who perform cataract surgery for the majority of our patients as an outpatient procedure at the Albany Regional Eye Surgery Center in Latham, New York. The staff at our surgery center exclusively performs eye surgery and they are highly experienced in helping patients comfortably go through all the steps of their surgery.

If you think you may have cataracts, please call our office to schedule a comprehensive exam at (518) 274-3123.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology‘s, H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., M.D. Center for Quality Eye Care and the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, collaborated on the study.