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Vision Impairment and Risk of Dementia: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Davies-Kershaw HR, Hackett RA, Cadar D, Herbert A, Orrell M, Steptoe A.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2018-08-11
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
Objectives To determine whether vision impairment is independently associated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with dementia. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants Individuals aged 50 and older MEASUREMENTS: Cross-sectional association between self-rated vision (poor or blind, moderate, normal) and dementia was analyzed, adjusting for potential confounders (sex, wealth, education, cardiovascular risk factors) using multivariable logistic regression. We also modelled the adjusted longitudinal association between vision impairment and dementia over an average of 11 years of follow-up using Cox proportional hazards regression for individuals aged 50 to 69 and those aged 70 and older. Results After adjustment for confounders, participants who rated their vision as moderate were 2.0 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.4-3.1) times as likely as those with normal vision to have dementia, and those who rated their vision as poor were 4.0 (95% CI=2.6-6.1) times as likely. Longitudinally, individuals aged 50 to 69 who rated their vision as moderate (1.8, 95% CI=1.0-3.0) or poor (3.6, 95% CI=1.1-11.8) were at greater risk of developing dementia than those who rated their vision as normal. There was no significant difference in risk in those aged 70 and older. Conclusion Our study confirms and extends findings from other countries, demonstrating cross-sectional associations between moderate and poor self-rated vision and dementia in England in all participants aged 50 and older and longitudinally over an 11-year period in those aged 50 to 69. These results help establish vision loss as a risk factor for dementia, although it is unclear why. Research is needed to determine whether screening and treatment for vision loss may slow cognitive decline.
Key findings
- Results After adjustment for confounders, participants who rated their vision as moderate were 2.0 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.4-3.1) times as likely as those with normal vision to have dementia, and those who rated their vision as poor were 4.0 (95% CI=2.6-6.1) times as likely.
- There was no significant difference in risk in those aged 70 and older.
- These results help establish vision loss as a risk factor for dementia, although it is unclear why.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 31 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 53 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30098017) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 31 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 31 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 53 out of 100. |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Davies-Kershaw, H. R., Hackett, R. A., Cadar, D., Herbert, A., Orrell, M., & Steptoe, A. (2018). Vision Impairment and Risk of Dementia: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15456
Vancouver
Davies-Kershaw HR, Hackett RA, Cadar D, Herbert A, Orrell M, Steptoe A. Vision Impairment and Risk of Dementia: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2018. doi:10.1111/jgs.15456. PMID: 30098017.
BibTeX
@article{davieskershaw2018-30098017,
author = {Davies-Kershaw, H. R. and Hackett, R. A. and Cadar, D. and Herbert, A. and Orrell, M. and Steptoe, A.},
title = {{Vision Impairment and Risk of Dementia: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1111/jgs.15456},
pmid = {30098017},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15456}
}
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