Women Who Undergo Cataract Surgery May Lengthen Their Lives
Girls who undergo cataract surgery may get an unexpected plus: higher life expectancy/
That's the finding from a new study of more than 74,000 U.S. girls aged 65 or older, including nearly 42,000 who'd had the eye process.
According to the study, having had cataract operation was associated with a 60 percent reduced risk of premature death from all causes, and a 37 to 69 percent reduced risk of death caused by accidents, heart and lung ailments, cancer, infectious diseases and neurological disorders.
The study couldn't prove cause-and-effect -- maybe girls who elect for cataract operation simply take care of these, although the researchers did variable in lifestyle issues such as exercise and obesity.
And research has indicated that a lower chance of death after cataract surgery may be due to improvements in general health and in day-to-day functioning, the study authors said.
The investigators also said it is not clear if the identical finding would apply to men.
Further study studying how cataract operation impacts chronic illness or death from certain causes might help explain "the benefits of cataract surgery beyond eyesight improvement," explained the group headed by Dr. Anne Coleman, of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Two experts in eye health consented that the importance of the new findings is obvious.
Even though the findings seem to make sense "from the fact that those with good eyesight are far better able to function and maintain independence, this is not what this study elucidates," said Dr. Amilia Schrier, an ophthalmologist who specializes in cataract surgery in the Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital in nyc.
She remarked that the women who were registered in the databases behind the analysis may be more health-conscious and "inclined to look for medical care and get such care as opposed to people who do not have surgery."
Dr. Matthew Gorski is an ophthalmologist in Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y.. He agreed that "the study does not indicate the exact role that cataract operation had on decreasing the risk of passing," but added that the findings "underscores the importance of visiting your eye doctor for screening eye examinations."
According to Schrier, cataracts are a "leading cause of curable blindness and visual impairment."
She explained cataract surgery as "a procedure that involves replacing the opaque lens with a transparent intraocular lens implant made of a plastic which delivers a marked improvement of eyesight."
