Eye disease link to risk of dementia
MILLIONS of people who suffer from common agerelated eye diseases could be in danger of developing dementia, warned a study.
The risk of dementia, one of the leading causes of death, is up to 60 per cent higher among people with eye diseases, say scientists.
About six million people are estimated to be living with sight-threatening eye conditions in the UK today and 850,000 have dementia.
The study, carried out by Dr Xianwen Shang at the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences in China, was published in The British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Dr Shang said: “Age-related macular degeneration, cataract and diabetesrelated eye disease but not glaucoma are associated with an increased risk of dementia.”