Vision problems linked to higher dementia risk
Reuters Health
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly adults with poor vision, particularly untreated vision problems, may have a higher risk of developing dementia than those with better vision, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among 625 older Americans with initially normal cognition, those who said they had poor vision even with corrective lenses were more likely to develop dementia over the next 8.5 years.
During the study period, 168 participants developed Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. Of those men and women, less than 10 percent had rated their vision as "excellent" at the start of the study. That compared with almost 31 percent of participants who maintained normal brain function over the study period.
