ArticleAmerican journal of ophthalmology2025
Visual Impairment and Cognitive Function in Aging Adults: Sex and Age Differences in Mediating Effect of Social Isolation and Depression.
Article in American journal of ophthalmology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Visual System in Alzheimer's Disease: A Multilevel Review of Pathology, Monitoring, and Intervention.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Joint association of postoperative visual acuity status and baseline loneliness with cognitive impairment after cataract surgery in older adults: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeVisual impairment (VI) is prevalent in older adults and associated with cognitive decline. However, the mechanisms through which visual impairment affects cognitive functioning during the aging process are poorly understood. Our study aims to estimate the direct effect of visual acuity on cognitive function and its indirect effect through social isolation and depressive symptoms by sex and age.
designCross-sectional study.
participants117,231 individuals aged 40-70 participated in the UK Biobank baseline and ocular assessment. Of these, 81% were white, 54% were female, and 45.6% were aged 60-70. The mean age was 56.8 (SD 8.1) years.
methodsPath analyses with multiple equations were conducted to examine the direct and indirect effects of visual acuity (VA). Stratified analyses by gender and age were performed.
main outcome measuresLogMAR VA was the exposure, with social isolation and depressive symptoms as mediators. Cognitive functions, including visual memory, verbal-numerical reasoning, processing speed, and prospective memory, were the outcomes.
resultsVA had a direct effect on cognitive function (β = -0.979 for reasoning and OR = 0.67 for prospective memory). VA also influenced cognition indirectly through social isolation and depressive symptoms. The direct effect of VA on cognitive function was similar in men vs. women and middle-aged vs. older. However, there is a marked difference in the mediating effect via social isolation and depressive symptoms by age and sex. The mediating effect of VI on cognition via social isolation was stronger in older adults than middle-aged and in men than women; while the mediating effect via depressive symptoms was stronger in women and middle-aged individuals. VI had the largest mediating effect via social isolation in older males. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Vision, social isolation, and depressive symptoms are modifiable factors and can be treated to preserve cognition. Encouraging social engagement among male and older adults with VI and promoting mental health awareness in women and middle-aged individuals with VI will reduce the negative impact of VI on cognition, lower dementia risk, and improve the well-being of aging adults.
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