Another Reason to Get My Eyes Checked

2021: at the Costco optometrist

It's been four years since my last eye exam. Although the contact lenses and glasses still perform adequately, the eyeglass metal frames are bent, and it's probably time to make an appointment.

Here's an additional incentive: [bold added]

For years, doctors have known that high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and excessive alcohol increase your risk of dementia.

More recently, a growing body of evidence also suggests a link to vision problems, leading to the influential Lancet Commission in 2024 to add untreated vision loss to the list of 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia. The commission, which issues periodic recommendations on public health matters, found that about 45% of dementia cases in the world are potentially preventable by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors — which also include high cholesterol, social isolation and hearing loss — and that 2% of cases can be prevented or delayed by addressing treatable vision loss.

That includes conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, nearsightedness, farsightedness and diabetic retinopathy (when blood vessels in the retina get damaged, often from poorly controlled diabetes).

A recent study published in JAMA also found that among roughly 2,800 older U.S. adults with dementia, an estimated 5% to 19% of dementia cases were attributable to vision impairment.

I get regular audio exams and updated my hearing aids last year. I should do the same with vision, not only because of the importance of sight but to keep senility at bay.

“When you’re depriving your brain of key sensory inputs like vision or hearing, those parts of the brain aren’t going to function as well,” [UCSF neurologist Dr. David] Soleimani-Mangooni said. “With decreased function, you can start to lose synapses or connections between cells of the brain. That can be a risk, potentially, for further cognitive changes.”