People having eye conditions such as age related cataract, macular degeneration, and diabetes related eye disease have an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a new research.
The researchers pointed out that vision impairment could be one of the first signs of Dementia. As one ages, one experiences vision impairment and cognitive impairment and also have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and stroke. All these are accepted risk factors for dementia. Untill now researchers were not that confirmed about the relation between eye conditions and dementia.
The British Journal of Ophthalmology published the findings. The researchers claimed that all the age related eye conditions are independently associated with increased risk of dementia. The researchers went through records of 12,364 British adults aged 55 to 73, who were taking part in the UK Biobank study. They assessed these people in 2006 and again in 2010 with their health information tracked until early 2021.
The researchers found more than 2,300 cases of dementia. They found that those with age related macular degeneration had a 26 per cent increased risk of developing dementia. Those having cataracts had an 11 percent increased risk and people having diabetes related eye disease had a 61 per cent risk.
People having diabetes, stroke, heart disease and depression were also more likely to be diagnosed with dementia. They concluded that people with both ophthalmic and systemic conditions are at a higher risk of dementia than the people with an ophthalmic or systemic condition only.
