Poor Eyesight in the Elderly, if Untreated, May Predict Dementia
Tue, March 2, 2010 at 03:00AM Vision problems – due to cataracts, glaucoma, or diabetic retinal disease - are common in the elderly, and can have serious consequences if left untreated. This is the conclusion of a study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
University of Michigan researchers analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study, as well as Medicare and Medicaid records. They selected 625 elderly US study participants who had normal mental skills (normal cognition) at baseline, and followed them over an average of 8½ years. At the end of the study the patients were classified as having dementia, cognitive impairment but no dementia, or normal cognition, and their eyesight problems were scored for each group.
Those subjects with very good or excellent vision at baseline had a 63% reduced likelihood of developing dementia during the study period. Those with poorer vision who didn’t have treatment had a 9-fold increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and a 5-fold risk of cognitive impairment but no dementia. Poor vision without any procedure to treat it had a 5-fold risk of increased Alzheimer’s. And looking at things from a different angle, 78% of the 90-year-olds who had normal cognition had received treatment for eye problems, compared with only 52% of those with Alzheimer’s. The researchers concluded that untreated poor vision is linked with cognitive decline – particularly Alzheimer’s disease.
Why is this? A possible reason is that older folk with poor vision cannot take part in some of the activities that are known to help in staving off Alzheimer’s – social interaction, puzzles, board, and word games, and physical exercise. Obviously, family members and care-givers should be alert to visual problems in their elderly charges, and schedule regular visits to the ophthalmologist.
Reader Comments (1)
I remember reading somewhere, that a habit of eating harder food prevents us from losing our memory fast..