A new study shows that when you have cataract surgery, you may be helping more than just your vision. You could very well be prolonging your life.
The study comes out of UCLA and is published in the January issue of JAMA Ophthalmology. It looked at over 74,000 women and compared the health and lifespan of women who had cataract surgery, with women who did not.
The results were stark: women who had cataract surgery had a 60% reduced risk of death from all causes.
Dr. Anne Coleman, an ophthalmologist at UCLA and one of the authors of the study, gave a great explanation as to why cataract surgery can increase your lifespan.
When people can see better, “they can also move more and get more exercise. They can see their pills better and may be more likely to take them and take the right ones. The surgery also improves visual contrast, which decreases the risk of accidental deaths from falls or driving. It’s important to get the best vision a person can have.”
To put it more succinctly, our vision is important to our overall health. Improve your vision, and you’re likely to improve your health.
It’s also worth noting that while this study was focused on women specifically, it builds on a large body of research showing that cataract surgery improves the overall health of both men and women.
Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in people over 40, and cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgery in the United States, and likely the most successful with an average 98% success rate.
If you think your vision might be affected by cataracts, the sooner you act the better. Clouded vision from cataracts not only affects your quality of life, the evidence suggests it might affect your quantity of life too.
If you’re concerned about cataracts clouding your vision, book a cataract consult today. We’d be thrilled to help.
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