Impact of cataract surgery on cognitive status in elderly patients: A study from a tertiary government hospital

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Evidence of improvement in varied measures of cognitive status following cataract surgery is mounting across the multiple populations. As data on trends in the Philippines is scant, this study aimed to compare the cognitive status before and after cataract surgery among elderly Filipino patients with senile immature cataracts. The validated translation of a tool designed for greater sensitivity in the detection of mild cognitive impairment/for dementia screening, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test – Philippines (MOCA-P), was used. METHODS: This was a single-center, single-arm pre-post (cataract surgery) study, involving fifty-two 60-84 year-old Filipinos with no debilitating nor documented psychological/psychiatric disorders. Recruited via convenience sampling, cognitive function/impairment testing was done using MOCA-P. Cut-off for mild cognitive impairment is 21; with lower scores denoting increasing likelihood. RESULTS: Significant increase in average MOCA-P scoring (21.46 ± 4.78 pre-operatively, to 24.65 ± 3.76 post-operatively; p=<0.025) was recorded in all patients. The average pre-operative MOCA-P test scores for all patients straddled, and for bilateral cases was below, the cut-off. No decrease in post-operative MOCA-P score was recorded. CONCLUSION: The results provide initial evidence parallel to populations elsewhere of improved cognition measures after cataract surgery. Further, as average pre-operative scores are below the cutoff, baseline deficits are noted widely in at least the study population. Expanded study may have value, given local demographic trends of increasing age, and the potential for initiatives in vision screening and cataract to yield benefits beyond visual function.