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Updated: May 25, 2026
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Published on: December 1, 2023
The effectiveness of cataract surgery in reducing motor vehicle crashes: a whole population study using linked data
Lynn B Meuleners1, Delia Hendrie, Andy H Lee
1Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MARC), Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. L.Meuleners@curtin.edu.au
Purpose:
To evaluate the effectiveness of first eye cataract surgery on drivers aged 60 years and over at a population level.
Methods:
A retrospective before and after comparison of all police reported crashes for patients who had undergone first eye cataract surgery using linked Western Australia data for the period 1997-2006. An economic analysis by the type of crash was performed on the cost savings from cataract surgery for this cohort.
Results:
Of the 27,827 patients who underwent cataract surgery in one eye only, 1715 patients were involved in 1762 police reported crash events, either 1 year before (n = 941 crashes) or 1 year after (n = 821 crashes) cataract surgery. Results from Poisson generalized estimating equations showed a significant reduction of 12.7% (P = 0.034) in all police reported crashes 1 year after cataract surgery. The corresponding cost savings amounted to $4.3 million.
Conclusion:
The findings are important for policy development to further improve driving outcomes among older drivers.
