Observational studyThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2020
Higher Dementia Incidence in Older Adults with Poor Visual Acuity.
Observational study in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- The eye-mind connection: a systematic review of retinal biomarkers and ocular signatures in major psychiatric disorders.European journal of medical research · 2025Pooled it
- The validity of visual and hearing impairment in predicting dementia and cognitive impairment in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Bidirectional Relationship between Vision and Cognition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Ophthalmology · 2021Pooled it
- Exploring Alzheimer Disease from a Retinal and Ocular Perspective.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Applying Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) on People with Concurrent Visual Impairment and Dementia: A Preliminary Study.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Sensory deficiencies correlate with tau protein and dementia.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- [Vision loss, cognitive decline and dementia-A narrative review article].Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2025Review
- The influence of diabetic retinopathy on the risk of dementia: A nationwide cohort study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Sensory impairment and dementia risk among older adults in rural South Africa.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Pilot Programme for Keratoconus Screening and Management in Adolescents with Down Syndrome.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Early detection of Alzheimer's disease using the MEMORIES mnemonic.Chronic diseases and translational medicine · 2025Review
- Effects of computerized cognitive training for cognitive and visually impaired: one-group pre- and post-test design.Dementia & neuropsychologia · 2025Article
- A Narrative Review of the Association Between Cataracts and Dementia.Eye and brain · 2025Review
- Aging-associated sensory decline and Alzheimer's disease.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2024Review
- Impact of eyesight, BMI, and the use of screen-based devices on mental well-being.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2024Article
- Associations of hearing and visual loss with cognitive decline and dementia risk: a 25-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study.Age and ageing · 2024Article
- Visual Impairment, Eye Conditions, and Diagnoses of Neurodegeneration and Dementia.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Depression, loneliness, and lower social activity as partial mediators of the association between visual impairment and cognitive decline.International journal of geriatric psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLongitudinal evidence of poor visual acuity associating with higher risk of incident dementia is mixed. This study aimed to examine if poor visual acuity was associated with higher dementia incidence in a large community cohort of older adults, independent of the possible biases relating to misclassification error, reverse causality, and confounding effects due to health problems and behaviors.
methodsA total of 15,576 community-living older adults without dementia at baseline were followed for 6 years to the outcome of incident dementia, which was diagnosed according to the ICD-10 or a Clinical Dementia Rating of 1 to 3. Visual acuity was assessed using the Snellen's chart at baseline and follow-up. Important variables including demographics (age, sex, education, and socioeconomic status), physical and psychiatric comorbidities (cardiovascular risks, ophthalmological conditions, hearing impairment, poor mobility, and depression), and lifestyle behaviors (smoking, diet, physical, intellectual, and social activities) were also assessed.
resultsOver 68,904 person-years of follow-up, 1,349 participants developed dementia. Poorer visual acuity at baseline was associated with higher dementia incidence in 6 years, even after adjusting for demographics, health problems, and lifestyle behaviors, and excluding those who developed dementia within 3 years after baseline. Compared with normal vision, the hazard ratio of dementia was 1.19 (p = .31), 2.09 (p < .001), and 8.66 (p < .001) for mild, moderate, and severe visual impairment, respectively.
conclusionsModerate-to-severe visual impairment could be a potential predictor and possibly a risk factor for dementia. From a clinical perspective, older adults with poor visual acuity might warrant further risk assessment for dementia.
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Registered trials
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