Filenews 15 September 2021
One of the most difficult diseases to treat is dementia. According to a new Chinese-British scientific study, macular degeneration of the eye due to age, cataracts and ophthalmological diseases associated with diabetes are associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.
Impaired vision can be one of the first signs of dementia, and a decrease in visual stimuli is believed to gradually exacerbate the disease. Some small studies in the past have provided evidence that there is probably a link between eye condition and cognitive impairment. The new research comes to confirm that there is such a correlation.
What the new research says
The researchers, led by Dr. Sianwen Sang of the Department of Ophthalmology of the Guantong Academy of Medical Sciences, who made the relevant publication in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, analyzed data on 12,364 people aged 55 to 73, who were monitored over time (between 2006-2021). In that time period, 2,304 cases of dementia were recorded.
Compared to those who did not have eye problems, the risk of dementia was on average 26% higher for people with age-related macular degeneration, 11% higher for those who had cataracts and 61% greater for those with eye diseases due to diabetes. The risk of Alzheimer's (the most common form of dementia) was not found to increase in the case of glaucoma, but it was greater for vascular dementia.
Also, according to the study, people who had previously had a heart attack, stroke, depression or had diabetes, had a higher risk of dementia. The coexistence of an ophthalmological condition further increased the risk of dementia.
