Vision Impairment Contributes to Dementia Risk

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 11, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The population-attributable fraction of dementia from vision impairments ranges from 4.9 to 19.0 percent, according to a study published online Sept. 5 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Jason R. Smith, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues estimated the contribution of vision impairments to dementia using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2,767 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older). 

The researchers found that the population-attributable fraction of prevalent dementia from at least one vision impairment was 19.0 percent. The strongest attributable fraction among all impairments was seen for contrast sensitivity impairment (15.0 percent), followed by near acuity (9.7 percent) and distance acuity (4.9 percent). Population-level dementia-attributable fractions from at least one visual impairment were highest among subpopulations of participants aged 71 to 79 years (24.3 percent), female individuals (26.8 percent), and non-Hispanic White individuals (22.3 percent), with estimates consistent across educational strata.

“While not proving a cause-and-effect relationship, these findings support inclusion of multiple objective measures of vision impairments, including contrast sensitivity and visual acuity, to capture the total potential impact of addressing vision impairment on dementia,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.

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