Correlation Between Psychosocial Disabilities in Daily Activities and Vision of Aged Cataract Operation Patients

Abstract

To investigate the correlation between psychosocial disabilities in daily activities and vision, 100 (25 men and 75 women) cataract operation patients were studied. The tests were conducted one day before the operation and three months after it. The cataract operation restored sufficient acuity of vision for reading (minimum E-test value 0.40) to 79% of the subjects. Psychosocial disabilities, which consisted of loss of independence and social isolation, correlated with acuity of vision both before the cataract operation and after it. The weaker the vision, the more numerous the psychosocial disabilities of the aged subjects. The disabilities were severest in walking out-of-doors and in hobbies, before the operation and after it, in old subjects whose acuity of vision had remained weaker than E-test value 0.30. All psychosocial disabilities diminished significantly when eyesight was restored by the operation. Part of the psychosocial disabilities after the operation were, however, explainable with eye-diseases and depression. On the other hand, depression was also present as a result of psychosocial disabilities.