By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Almost Anybody Qualifies for Medicaid in Maine
    November 23, 2012
    ebola and EHR
    Ebola: Are We Relying on EHR to Tell the Story?
    October 24, 2014
    Caitlin Kelly
    How Would You Fix Healthcare? – Question and Answers.
    January 16, 2013
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Fix the Eye and Save the Hip?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Specialties > Geriatrics > Fix the Eye and Save the Hip?
GeriatricsNews

Fix the Eye and Save the Hip?

psalber
psalber
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

 

 

There is a very interesting study in the August 1, 2012 issue of JAMA titled “Risk of Fractures Following Cataract Surgery in Medicare Beneficiaries.”  It has been known that visual changes related to cataracts are associated with postural instability.  Postural instability, in turn, is related to falls.  Falls in older folks, particularly if they have osteoporosis, can result in hip fractures.  And, hip fractures are a cause of morbidity and mortality in elders.

Victoria Tseng, MD and her colleagues decided to study whether removing cataracts would result in a reduced risk of hip fractures in Medicare beneficiaries. The researchers used the 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2002 to 2010 to answer the question.

More Read

The Power and Danger of Wishful Thinking
Online Tech Exhibits HIPAA Hosting Solutions for mHealth
Report on Hospital Acquired Infection in CA Released
The Double Edge Sword for Cost Report Reopening
Sequestration Reduced Your Medicare Pay? You Have Four Options

There were two groups of patients identified:

1)  Those with both a diagnosis code (ICD-9) for cataract and a procedural (CPT) code for cataract surgery

2.  Those with a diagnosis of cataract, but no claims evidence of cataract procedure during the study period

Claims were reviewed for hip fracture codes (both surgical and non-surgical) occurring during the year before and after date of surgery or in the case of the group without surgery, during the year after the diagnosis of cataract.

1,113,640 unique patients with a diagnosis code of cataract (366.xx) were found in the random sample.  Most were women (60%) and most were white (88%).  410,809 (37%) had cataract surgery during the study period.  The cataract surgery group was older than the cataract diagnosis group.  And, the prevalence of severe cataracts was significantly higher in the group that had surgery (no surprise here).

Cataract

The incidence of hip fracture during the study period was low, 1.3%, but still that represented 13,976 individuals.  After adjusting for demographics and comorbidities, the study showed lower odds of hip fratures in the cataract surgery group compared with the cataract diagnosis group – results were particularly good in the 80-84 year old age group.  The difference in absolute risk was 16% (0.20% vs. 0.24%).  The numbers needed to treat (e.g., have cataract surgery) to prevent a hip fracture was 507.

Because the study was retrospective, observational, and used administrative data, the findings are suggestive, but not conclusive.  Thus, the authors state that “cataract surgery may be associated with lower odds of subsequent fracture in patients aged 65 and older in the US Medicare population.”  And, of course, they suggest that prospective studies be done to better determine the “potential benefit of cataract surgery” in the elderly.

If the results hold up, this is an important finding.  Cataract surgery has improved remarkably over the years and is now quite safe and usually delivers excellent outcomes.    Prevention of hip fracture, a traumatic event with signficant morbidity and mortality is a worthwhile goal.

 

TAGGED:cataractship fractures
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

News

Weekly Dose of Top 5 Healthcare Stories You Might’ve Missed

January 12, 2016

Robots as Doctors

June 22, 2012
chronic insomnia
eBookNewsSpecialtiesWellness

Chronic Insomnia: Review of Six Steps to Better Sleep

June 8, 2017
Image
BusinessNewsSocial Media

Person-Centered HealthCare: EndoGoal – the Diabetes App That Rewards

October 19, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?