The effect of sarcopenic obesity on daily activities of patients with cataract and glaucoma

Age-associated diseases — glaucoma and cataract in combination with sarcopenic obesity, which develops mainly against the background of physical inactivity due to visual impairment, potentially contribute to a decrease in the activity of patients in everyday life, but the latter has not been practically assessed by special tests taking into account visual impairment. Purpose of the work is to study the effect of cataract and primary glaucoma on the daily activities of patients with sarcopenic obesity.

Material and methods. The study included 125 patients aged 60–74 years with sarcopenic obesity and immature cortical cataract stage 2 (according to the classification of clinical guidelines “Senile cataract, 2023”) with visual acuity of 0.3–0.4 and intraocular pressure (IOP) from 16 to 19 mm Hg. The study also included 138 patients of the same age with sarcopenic obesity and advanced primary open-angle glaucoma (according to the classification of clinical guidelines “Primary open-angle glaucoma, 2020”) with normalized IOP from 17 to 20 mm Hg and visual acuity of 0.3–0.4. Sarcopenia was identified using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People scale, and obesity was determined by a body mass index ³ 30 kg/m2. Activities of daily living were assessed using a specific test developed by us.

Results. It was found that cataract combined with sarcopenic obesity causes complete dependence on others (12.25 points) and has a more significant impact on everyday life than glaucoma combined with sarcopenic obesity, which causes moderate dependence (10.17 points) (p< 0.01). Statistically significant differences were found between these groups in all types of daily activities that require assistance, including nail cutting and threading a needle. Limitations in threading a needle in patients with cataracts and sarcopenic obesity correspond to 1.86 ± 0.03 points, which is significantly higher than in patients with glaucoma and sarcopenic obesity — 1.49 ± 0.02 points (p < 0.01).

Conclusion. The revealed features of visual limitations in daily activities in patients with glaucoma and cataracts combined with sarcopenic obesity should be taken into account by ophthalmologists when forming recommendations for patients' behavior in everyday life.

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