Longitudinal Changes in Visual Acuity and Contrast Sensitivity and Incident Dementia

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Gerontology
• Neurology

Background:

• Vision impairment is a growing concern in aging populations.
• The relationship between vision and cognitive decline, specifically dementia, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess how baseline vision and changes in vision impact the risk of developing dementia.
• To investigate the association between distance visual acuity (DVA), near visual acuity (NVA), and contrast sensitivity (CS) and incident dementia.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2021-2022).
• Assessed binocular presenting vision, including DVA, NVA, and CS.
• Defined dementia status using medical diagnosis, cognitive scores, and performance on cognitive tests.

Main Results:

• Worse baseline DVA, NVA, and CS were associated with a higher likelihood of developing dementia.
• A decline in contrast sensitivity (CS) over one year was linked to an increased risk of dementia.
• Changes in visual acuity (VA) were not significantly associated with dementia risk.

Conclusions:

• Baseline vision deficits and worsening contrast sensitivity are risk factors for incident dementia.
• Interventions to improve vision may potentially reduce dementia risk.
• Further research is needed to explore the impact of vision improvement strategies on dementia prevention.