Age & diabetes related eye problems linked to heightened risk of dementia in adults: Study

According to new research, it has come to light that age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and diabetes-related eye disease are connected to an increased risk of dementia. According to a report published in the British Journal of Opthalmology, vision impairment or reduced stimulation of visual sensory pathways can be the first sign of dementia in a person. The study suggests that there may possibly be a strong connection between ophthalmic conditions that cause vision impairment, such as cataracts, eye-related disease, glaucoma, and cognitive impairment. These eye conditions increase with age and also trigger other health-related issues in a person, including high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and stroke, which are considered risk factors for dementia.

The researchers enrolled more than 12,000 adults aged between 55 and 73 years to carry out the research, and it was found that age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and diabetes-related eye disease were directly associated with an increased risk of dementia. The researchers carried out the study on 12,000 participants and showed that people who did not have ophthalmic conditions at the beginning of the study showed an increased risk of dementia. The risk was nearly 26% higher in those with age-related macular degeneration, while the risk was higher in the 11% of people who had cataracts and 61% higher in those with diabetes-related eye disease.

The researchers also found that glaucoma was not associated with Alzheimer's disease, but it was linked with vascular dementia. During the research, the participants were asked if they had ever experienced a heart attack, angina, a stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, or depression. Because all of these conditions were related to increased risk of dementia, having one of these conditions along with an ophthalmic condition increased the risk of dementia further, and the risk was double when diabetes-related eye disease occurred along with the above mentioned physical conditions. Notably, the study claimed that those individuals who had ophthalmic conditions were at great risk of suffering from dementia.

Researchers observation

The researchers said that it was an observational study and couldn't establish the cause of the disease. The authors also revealed the limitations they faced related to data capture. The researchers pointed out that ophthalmic conditions were defined on the basis of self-report and inpatient record data, which was likely to underestimate their prevalence, that medical records and death registers may not contain all the cases of dementia, and some cases of dementia in patients must have occurred during the study before eye disease.

The researchers concluded the study by saying, "Age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and diabetes-related eye disease but not glaucoma is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Individuals with both ophthalmic and systemic conditions are at higher risk of dementia compared with those with an ophthalmic or systemic condition only. " The researchers further said, "Newly developed hypertension, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and depression mediated the association between cataract/diabetes-related eye disease and dementia."

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(With Inputs from ANI)