Tyler Andrew Hall

Effect of Cataract Surgery on Cognitive Function in Older Adults

Objectives: To assess whether cataract surgery has an effect on cognitive function in older adults.

Effect of Cataract Surgery on Falls and Mobility in Independently Living Older Adults

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of cataract surgery on the occurrence of falls and mobility and balance problems in older adults with cataract.

Benign essential blepharospasm: risk factors with reference to hemifacial spasm.

Background: To identify risk factors associated with benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) with reference to hemifacial spasm (HFS). Persons with BEB and HFS experience similar physical symptoms, yet the two disorders have different etiologies. Methods: Patients with BEB (n = 159) or HFS (n = 91) were identified from two large neuro-ophthalmology clinics. Demographic, medical, behavioral, and psychological characteristics were obtained from chart review and a telephonic survey questionnaire. Results: The average age of BEB and HFS was 66 years. Most patients in both groups were retired, white, and female. BEB patients were more than two times as likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder than HFS patients (odds ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.22-3.72).There was no difference between the two groups regarding demographics, smoking, a family history of dystonia, Parkinson disease, Bell palsy, Tourette disorder, obsessive compulsive symptoms, history of head trauma, alcohol use, or caffeine consumption. Conclusions: As compared to HFS, BEB was significantly more often associated with generalized anxiety disorder. Given the similarity of other clinical features of these two disorders, it is reasonable to conclude that anxiety is a cause not a consequence of BEB. Contrary to previous studies, BEB was not associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms, head trauma, Parkinson disease, Bell palsy, Tourette disorder, or lack of smoking.

Gun-related eye injury in the United States, 1993-2002.

Objective: To present the descriptive epidemiology of gun-related eye injury in the United States from 1993 through 2002. Methods: Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was used to estimate the number of patients treated in the United States for gun-related eye injury (GEI) (air guns and firearms), air gun-related eye injury (AEI) (BB/pellet guns and rifles) and firearm-related eye injury (FEI) (all powder discharge guns) during the time period 1993 through 2002. Rates were calculated according to age, gender, race, weapon type and circumstances surrounding the injury event (e.g., locale and intent). Results: The rate of gun-related eye injury in the United States declined to 7.5 per 1,000,000 in 2002 from 14.8 per 1,000,000 in 1993, representing a decline of approximately 5.4% per year (p = 0.0002), due primarily to a decline in the rate of FEI (6.7% per year, p = 0.029). The rate of AEI was relatively constant. GEI rates were highest among those aged 10–19 years, males, and Blacks. The overall rate of AEI was higher than the rate of FEI (6.0 per 1,000,000 and 5.1 per 1,000,000, respectively). According to race, the rate of FEI was higher than the rate of AEI in Blacks whereas the rate of AEI was higher than the rate of FEI in Whites and Hispanics. The majority of GEIs occurred at home and were unintentional. Conclusion: The rate of gun-related eye injury in the United States declined from 1993 through 2002 primarily due to a reduction in firearm-related eye injury, whereas the rate of air gun-related eye injury remained constant. Persons who were young, Black, and male were at highest risk for gun-related eye injury.