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Visual impairment and cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease
Uhlmann RF, Larson EB, Koepsell TD, Rees TS, Duckert LG.. Journal of general internal medicine, 1991-03-01
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Objective To determine whether impaired visual acuity is associated with dementia and cognitive dysfunction in older adults. Design Paired case-control comparisons of the relative frequencies of visual impairment in demented cases and nondemented controls. Cohort analyses of correlation between visual acuity and cognitive functioning in demented cases. Setting Internal medicine clinics at two academically affiliated medical centers. Participants Eighty-seven consecutively selected patients greater than or equal to 65 years of age with mild-to-moderate, clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (cases) and 87 nondemented controls matched to the cases by age, sex, and education. Measurements and main results The prevalence of visual impairment was higher in cases than in controls [unadjusted odds ratio for near-vision impairment = 2.7 (95% CI = 1.4, 5.2); unadjusted odds ratio for far-vision impairment = 2.1 (95% CI = 1.02, 4.3); odds ratios adjusted for family history of dementia, depression, number of medications, and hearing loss were 2.5 (95% CI = 1.1, 10.5) for near-vision impairment and 1.9 (95% CI = 0.8, 4.6) for far-vision impairment]. When further stratified by quartiles of visual acuity, no statistically significant "dose-response" relationship between vision impairment and dementia risk was observed. Among cases, the degree of visual impairment was significantly correlated with the severity of cognitive dysfunction for both near and far vision (adjusted ps less than 0.001). Conclusions Visual impairment is associated with both an increased risk and an increased clinical severity of Alzheimer's disease, but the increased risk may not be consistent with a progressive dose-response relationship. Further studies are needed to determine whether visual impairment unmasks and exacerbates the symptoms of dementia or is a marker of disease severity.
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APA 7th
Uhlmann, R. F., Larson, E. B., Koepsell, T. D., Rees, T. S., & Duckert, L. G. (1991). Visual impairment and cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of general internal medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02598307
Vancouver
Uhlmann RF, Larson EB, Koepsell TD, Rees TS, Duckert LG. Visual impairment and cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. Journal of general internal medicine. 1991. doi:10.1007/bf02598307. PMID: 2023019.
BibTeX
@article{uhlmann1991-2023019,
author = {Uhlmann, R. F. and Larson, E. B. and Koepsell, T. D. and Rees, T. S. and Duckert, L. G.},
title = {{Visual impairment and cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of general internal medicine},
year = {1991},
doi = {10.1007/bf02598307},
pmid = {2023019},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02598307}
}
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Key findings
- Objective To determine whether impaired visual acuity is associated with dementia and cognitive dysfunction in older adults.
- Measurements and main results The prevalence of visual impairment was higher in cases than in controls [unadjusted odds ratio for near-vision impairment = 2.7 (95% CI = 1.4, 5.2); unadjusted odds ratio for far-vision impairment = 2.1 (95% CI = 1.02, 4.3); odds ratios adjusted for family history of dementia, depression, number of medications, and hearing loss were 2.5 (95% CI = 1.1, 10.5) for near-vision impairment and 1.9 (95% CI = 0.8, 4.6) for far-vision impairment].
- When further stratified by quartiles of visual acuity, no statistically significant "dose-response" relationship between vision impairment and dementia risk was observed.
- Among cases, the degree of visual impairment was significantly correlated with the severity of cognitive dysfunction for both near and far vision (adjusted ps less than 0.001).
- Conclusions Visual impairment is associated with both an increased risk and an increased clinical severity of Alzheimer's disease, but the increased risk may not be consistent with a progressive dose-response relationship.
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Study details
- Study designcase-control study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a case-control study. 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 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of general internal medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 6 / 12 | A case-control study |
| 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 | 1 / 5 | 1991 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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 2023019) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 29 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 29 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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