PURPOSE: To investigate the association of depressive symptoms with visual impairment caused by cataract in the elderly. METHODS: Twenty-three patients with cataract and visual acuity less than 20/200 were studied. Ages ranged from 60 to 93 years. Before the cataract operation and one month there after the patient's depression was tested using the Geriatric Depression Scale-GDS. RESULTS: The cataract surgery restored visual acuity to 20/50 or better in all patients. Before and after the surgery, 11 (47.82%) and 10 (43.47%) patients had scores indicative of depression, respectively (p=l.0; McNemar test). The average GDS score for all subjects before operation was 5.0 and after the cataract surgery it was 4.0 (p=0.012; paired Wilcoxon). After the operation the subjects' depression symptoms had significantly diminished, from 3 to 8 points before to 3 to 6 points after surgery. CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms are prevalent and persistent among elderly patients however depression rates decrease with improved visual acuity.
Cataract; Phacoemulsification; Depression; Depressive disorder; Depressive disorder; Geriatric assessment; Psychiatric status rating scales; Vision disorders; Activities of daily living; Aged
