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Study: Vision to linked mental decline
in seniors
Problems seeing things close-up can speed up the rate of mental
decline in the elderly, a study published in the Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society indicates.
Researchers examined the link between vision and level of mental
functioning in 2,140 Mexican-American adults over the age of 65.
What they found was that seniors who had problems with near vision
(but not with distance) showed the steepest decline in mental
functioning over a 7-year period.
At the start of the study, the researchers tested the seniors'
close-up and long-distance vision, their hearing, and their level
of mental functioning, based on a standardized test. They also
noted participants' age, gender, marital status, education,
medical history, and other factors. All of the participants were
retested after 2, 5, and 7 years.
While some decrease in vision is normal as people age - often
requiring reading glasses - older adults are at an increased risk
for more serious vision impairment caused by cataracts, macular
degeneration, and other eye-related problems.
In the study, seniors who had problems with near vision decreased
on the mental functioning scale by 0.6 points after 2 years and
decreased 0.1 point more per year than participants who could see
at close range. But seniors with difficulty seeing things that
were far away had no significant difference in mental decline from
those who had no problem with distance vision.
Other factors that were linked with greater mental decline were
poorer initial score on the mental function scale, greater age,
lower educational level, being unmarried, symptoms of depression,
and the number of limitations seniors faced with regards to their
daily activities.
The exact reason for the link between near vision and rate of
mental decline is unclear, but the researchers speculate that not
being able to see things close up affects the level of brain
activity by decreasing both active and passive visual stimulation.
Keeping your brain active through activities such as reading or
doing crosswords, and even by passively processing visual
information, increases nerve activity in the brain and has been
shown in studies to have a preventative effect against dementia
and Alzheimer's disease.
And while it is impossible to prevent age-related vision problems
altogether, you can protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses and
catch eye problems early through regular eye exams.
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