Risk of falls and injuries requiring hospitalisation after first-eye cataract surgery in elderly Australians

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the impact of the type of the intraocular lenses (IOLs) in first-eye cataract surgery in elderly people on the risk of hospitalisation due to falls and injuries. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Australian Government Department Veterans’ Affairs claims data. All people aged 65 years and above who had first cataract surgery between January 2007 and July 2017 were identified. Two cohorts were established depending on the type of IOL—monofocal and multifocal. The risk of injuries and falls requiring hospitalisation in the first 3 months post the surgery was assessed using Cox proportional hazard models with age at entry as primary time scale and adjusting for gender, comorbidities and prior history of falls. Results: There were 45 728 people across the two cohorts with the majority receiving monofocal lenses (97%), followed by multifocal lenses (3%) at the time of first cataract surgery. The risk of injury and falls was lower (but not significant) in the multifocal cohort compared to monofocal cohort (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.56, 95% CI 0.26–1.17). The risk was also lower (but not significant) when stratifying by age group at the time of the surgery. Conclusions: Regardless of age, multifocal lenses did not appear to be associated with the higher risk of serious injuries and falls after first-eye cataract surgery compared to monofocal lenses.