RESUMO
PURPOSE: To evaluate whether cognitive impairment improves in elderly patients who have cataract surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. SETTING: Kouki Hospital, Yamaguchi, Japan. METHODS: A prospective observational study evaluated patients' scores on the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS-R) and the HDS-R minus 1 item regarding immediate regeneration (ie, function of vision and memory). Twenty patients (6 men, 14 women) with cognitive impairment had cataract surgery in 1 eye between March 1996 and July 2001 at Kouki Hospital, Japan. The mean age of the patients was 81.8 years (range 61 to 90 years). Twenty patients (4 men, 16 women) with cognitive impairment who did not have cataract surgery were selected as a control. The mean age in the control group was 84.3 years (range 70 to 93 years). The HDS-R was administered twice between March 1996 and July 2001. RESULTS: The mean HDS-R scores in the cataract surgery group improved from 12.5 points +/- 5.3 (SD) preoperatively to 16.6 +/- 6.2 points postoperatively; the improvement was significant (t = -5.02; P<.0001). After cataract surgery, the grade of cognitive impairment improved in 12 patients (60%), was unchanged in 7 (35%), and was worse in 1 (5%). CONCLUSION: Cataract surgery improved cognitive impairment in elderly Japanese patients.