A new study published in JAMA Neurology found that vision impairment may be one of them.
The study details.
The research team used data from the 2018 Health and Retirement Study, which tracked changes in the health and economic conditions of more than 16,000 older adults. Using these data, they estimated that 1.8% of dementia cases in the United States (more than 100,000 prevalent cases) were associated with vision impairment.
How exactly does correcting vision reduce the risk of dementia?
Growing evidence suggests that vision impairment cause more stress on the brain and is connected to changes in brain function, as seen in dementia. Left untreated, visual and other sensory impairments can reduce daily routines and activities in older adults.
The take home.
The researchers noted that because a large majority of vision impairment can be treated with cost-effective but underused interventions, this may represent a viable target for future interventional research that aims to slow cognitive decline and prevent incident dementia.