Recent research links cataract removal to a slower rate of cognitive decline in older adults.
Previous research has suggested links between visual impairment and cognitive decline and for Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. A common reason for vision impairment in this age group is cataracts — a condition that causes the lens of the eye to become opaque and blurs the image you see when you focus on something.
Research suggests that cataract removal boosts quality of life and reduces the risks of falls. However, there has not been much investigation into whether the procedure might slow cognitive decline. The study compared 2,068 people who underwent cataract surgery between 2002 and 2014, with a control group of people who did not have cataracts. A word recall test was used to evaluate the participant’s memory. The data showed that episodic memory scores declined in age in all the study participants. However, the decline was slower in the people without cataracts – and after those who did have cataracts underwent surgery to treat the condition, their decline slowed to a similar rate as the control group.
Patrick R, Hot, MD, professor of neurology and geriatric/palliative medicine at Mount Sunai, thinks this is a strong study, “The paper is well designed and based on a sizable population,” he said. “Importantly, it had a long follow up. This permitted the research team to assess the evolution of change in the participants cognitive abilities over time. As such, the conditions are quite solid.”