■ Cataract surgery and hip fractures.

      A major study of Medicare beneficiaries has suggested that cataract surgery is a key contributor to improved quality of life for seniors, with fewer accidents and falls among the key factors that significantly reduced their risk of hip fractures compared to patients who have not had cataract surgery.

      Researchers tracked the incidence of hip fracture occurring within one year of cataract surgery in 400,000 Medicare patients from 2002 to 2009. They then compared the data with hip fracture incidence in a matched group of patients who had cataracts but did not have them removed. Researchers attributed the 16% decrease in patients’ adjusted odds of experiencing a hip fracture to improved vision that enabled them to avoid falling.

      The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.