In older adults, even mild impairment can affect the brain. But there are simple ways to reduce the harm. Adults older than 65 who experience vision loss have a nearly 50% increased risk of developing dementia.
If those vision problems are corrected, that risk drops dramatically. That’s according to a report published recently by an international commission focused on dementia prevention, which added vision impairment to its list of 14 total modifiable risk factors for dementia. Other risk factors include smoking, diabetes, social isolation and hypertension.
Experts say the addition of vision loss is not a surprise, particularly given that another sensory impairment – hearing loss – has been linked to dementia and is also on the list. Here’s what we know about how even mild to moderate vision and hearing impairment increase the risk for dementia , and what to do about it..
