Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33661480›Full record

ArticleAging clinical and experimental research2021

The association between objective vision impairment and mild cognitive impairment among older adults in low- and middle-income countries.

Lee Smith, Jae Il Shin, Louis Jacob, Guillermo F López-Sánchez, Hans Oh, Yvonne Barnett, Shahina Pardhan, Laurie Butler, Pinar Soysal, Nicola Veronese and 1 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Sensory impairment and dementia risk among older adults in rural South Africa.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 7 institutions in 7 countries.

Lee SmithThe Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. Lee.Smith@aru.ac.uk.
Jae Il ShinDepartment of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, South Korea.
Louis JacobResearch and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, 08830, Barcelona, Spain.
Guillermo F López-SánchezVision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University-Cambridge Campus, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9897-5273
Hans OhSuzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Yvonne BarnettAnglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
Shahina PardhanVision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University-Cambridge Campus, Cambridge, UK.
Laurie ButlerFaculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
Pinar SoysalDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Nicola VeronesePrimary Care Department, Unità Locale Socio Sanitaria 3 "Serenissima", Venice, Italy.
Ai KoyanagiResearch and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, 08830, Barcelona, Spain.
Anglia Ruskin University · GBBezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi · TRInstitució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · ESUniversité de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines · FRUniversity of Palermo · ITUniversity of Southern California · USYonsei University · KR

Funding

Fundación Séneca 20390/PD/17
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimThe association between visual impairment and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has not been investigated to date. Thus, we assessed this association among older adults from six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (China, India, Ghana, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa) using nationally representative datasets.

methodsCross-sectional, community-based data from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were analyzed. Visual acuity was measured using the tumbling ElogMAR chart, and vision impairment (at distance and near) was defined as visual acuity worse than 6/18 (0.48 logMAR) in the better-seeing eye. The definition of MCI was based on the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association criteria. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted.

resultsData on 32,715 individuals aged ≥ 50 years [mean (SD) age 62.1 (15.6) years; 51.2% females] were analyzed. Compared to those without far or near vision impairment, those with near vision impairment but not far vision impairment (OR = 1.33; 95% CI = 1.16-1.52), and those with both far and near vision impairment (OR = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.27-2.29) had significantly higher odds for MCI. Only having far vision impairment was not significantly associated with MCI.

conclusionsVisual impairment is associated with increased odds for MCI among older adults in LMICs with the exception of far vision impairment only. Future longitudinal and intervention studies should examine causality and whether improvements in visual acuity, or early intervention, can reduce risk for MCI and ultimately, dementia.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionDeveloping CountriesAgedChinaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMalePrevalenceEpidemiologyLow- and middle-income countriesMild cognitive impairmentOlder adultsVision impairment

Identifiers

PMID33661480
OpenAlexW3135727594

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.