Home › Research › Risk factors
Visual Impairment, Eye Diseases, and Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Kuźma E, Littlejohns TJ, Khawaja AP, Llewellyn DJ, Ukoumunne OC, Thiem U.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2021-01-01
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Background Visual impairment and eye diseases have been associated with dementia, though with mixed findings and often in cross-sectional studies. Objective To identify prospective studies investigating associations between visual impairment or common eye diseases and risk of all-cause dementia or key dementia subtypes. Methods We searched Medline, PsycINFO, and Embase from inception to January 2020. We also conducted backward and forward citation searches of included studies and set up alerts to identify studies published after the search date. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to combine adjusted estimates across studies. Results Thirty studies met our eligibility criteria. For visual impairment, pooled estimates indicated an increased risk of all-cause dementia (37,705 participants, 3,415 cases, risk ratio [RR] = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-1.59, I2 = 28.6%). Pooled estimates also suggested an increased dementia risk associated with cataract (6,659 participants, 1,312 cases, hazard ratio [HR] = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.00-1.38, I2 = 0.0%) and diabetic retinopathy (43,658 participants, 7,060 cases, HR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.11-1.61, I2 = 63.9%), respectively. There was no evidence of an association between glaucoma (175,357 participants, 44,144 cases, HR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.90-1.04, I2 = 51.5%) or age-related macular degeneration (7,800,692 participants, > 2,559 cases, HR = 1.15, 95% CI: 0.88-1.50, I2 = 91.0%) and risk of dementia, respectively. Conclusion As visual impairment, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy are associated with an increased likelihood of developing dementia, early diagnosis may help identify those at risk of dementia. Given most causes of visual impairment are treatable or preventable, the potential for dementia prevention warrants further investigation.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Kuźma, E., Littlejohns, T. J., Khawaja, A. P., Llewellyn, D. J., Ukoumunne, O. C., & Thiem, U. (2021). Visual Impairment, Eye Diseases, and Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-210250
Vancouver
Kuźma E, Littlejohns TJ, Khawaja AP, Llewellyn DJ, Ukoumunne OC, Thiem U. Visual Impairment, Eye Diseases, and Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2021. doi:10.3233/jad-210250. PMID: 34397414.
BibTeX
@article{kuzma2021-34397414,
author = {Kuźma, E. and Littlejohns, T. J. and Khawaja, A. P. and Llewellyn, D. J. and Ukoumunne, O. C. and Thiem, U.},
title = {{Visual Impairment, Eye Diseases, and Dementia Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.3233/jad-210250},
pmid = {34397414},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-210250}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Background Visual impairment and eye diseases have been associated with dementia, though with mixed findings and often in cross-sectional studies.
- Results Thirty studies met our eligibility criteria.
- For visual impairment, pooled estimates indicated an increased risk of all-cause dementia (37,705 participants, 3,415 cases, risk ratio [RR] = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-1.59, I2 = 28.6%).
- Pooled estimates also suggested an increased dementia risk associated with cataract (6,659 participants, 1,312 cases, hazard ratio [HR] = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.00-1.38, I2 = 0.0%) and diabetic retinopathy (43,658 participants, 7,060 cases, HR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.11-1.61, I2 = 63.9%), respectively.
- Conclusion As visual impairment, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy are associated with an increased likelihood of developing dementia, early diagnosis may help identify those at risk of dementia.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Risk factors, ranked →
Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants37,705
- Effect size28.6%; 0.0%; HR = 1.34
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 84/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. 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 49 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 84 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 37,705 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| 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 34397414) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 49 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 49 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 84 out of 100. |
| Total | 84 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Related studies in Risk factors
Also tagged “coherence-tomography”
151 studies in the library carry the topic tag “coherence-tomography”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 151 tagged studies.