Advanced
Technology Helps Seniors Maintain an Active Lifestyle
Senior Care Company Shows Record Growth
Lifelong Learning and Wellness at Asian Community Center
Senior Health: Watch the Amount of Salt You Are Consuming
Along The Boomer Trail: Olympian Courage Versus Political Cowardice
Your Money Matters: National Writer Warns of Bad Advice
Ken's Corner: 1932 Media Prediction Was Way Off
Untreated, Poor Vision Linked to Alzheimer’s Related Dementia
By
Stephen J. Baetge
Staff Writer
A
recent study by the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) has
discovered a possible link between untreated visual disorders and
Alzheimer’s related dementia, leading researchers to remind
older Americans not to neglect routine eye examinations as part of
their efforts to maintain overall good health.
According to the study, elderly individuals with visual disorders that are left
untreated are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease — the
most common form of dementia.
Using Medicare data from 625 people compiled from 1992-2005, researchers discovered
that those with poor vision who visited an ophthalmologist at least once for
an examination were 64 percent less likely to develop dementia.
The results of the study, published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology,
are expected to draw a new picture of poor vision as a predictor of dementia
rather than as a symptom after diagnosis of the disease.
“Visual problems can have serious consequences and are very common among
the elderly, but many of them are not seeking treatment,” observed the
study’s lead author, Mary A.M. Rogers, Ph.D., research assistant professor
of internal medicine at the UM Medical School.
“Our results indicate that it is important for elderly individuals with
visual problems to seek medical attention so that the causes of the problems
can be identified and treated,” Rogers continued.
To perform the study, researchers analyzed data from the nationally representative
Health and Retirement Study and records from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services. They found that the types of vision treatment that were helpful in
lowering the risk of dementia were surgery to correct cataracts and treatments
for glaucoma, retinal disorders and other eye-related problems.
Not surprisingly, proper vision is a requirement for many of the activities which
previously have been found to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Risk reducing activities include reading, playing board games, other mentally
stimulating activities, social networking, as well as physical activity such
as walking and routine exercising. Studies have also shown that visual disorders
may interfere with normal mobility and may hinder a person’s ability to
participate in such activities.
UMHS researchers believe that one reason older American’s do not seek early
treatment for visual problems is a lack of adequate vision coverage under most
insurance.
“Many elderly Americans do not have adequate health coverage for vision,
and Medicare does not cover preventative vision screenings for most beneficiaries,” Rogers
explained. “So it’s not unusual that the elderly receive vision treatment
only after a problem is severe enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, when
the problem is more advanced.”
According to a survey performed by the National Eye Health Education Program,
less than 11 percent of people surveyed knew that there are no early warning
signs for eye problems such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
Vision problems and blindness are among the top 10 disabilities for adults and
can result in a greater tendency to experience other health conditions or even
to die prematurely.
“While heart disease and cancer death rates are continuing to decline,
mortality rates for Alzheimer’s disease are on the rise,” cautioned
Rogers.
One in five Americans over age 50 reported experiencing a visual impairment,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Over five million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, and that number has
doubled since 1980. The number is expected to increase with the demographic shift
resulting from an aging population.
Rogers emphasized the need for early detection of visual impairment as a way
to combat the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“If we can delay the onset of dementia, we can save individuals and their
families from the stress, cost and burden that are associated with Alzheimer’s
disease,” she said.
This page and its contents ©2010
Metropolitan News Company, Inc.
