Can cataract surgery prevent dementia?
San Diego Carlsbad Encinitas cataract surgeon
Cataracts are very common. More than half of all Americans over age 80 have cataracts, or have already had surgery to get rid of them. Cataracts can have a huge impact on a person’s quality of life, and there are a number of reasons to address them. After cataract surgery, not only will you see better, but you’ll also be safer on the road. You may even have a significantly lower risk of one of the most feared diseases: dementia.
Study demonstrates that having cataract surgery is associated with a lower risk of dementia
A recent study published in the highly prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found a strong link between cataract surgery and the risk of dementia.
The study followed more than 3000 patients over age 65, over the course of an average of 8 years. The authors found that people who had cataract surgery during this period were nearly 30% less likely to develop dementia than those who didn’t have cataract surgery.
With any study that follows people’s natural health trajectory (rather than randomly assigning them to a particular treatment), there could be unknown factors that explain the results. For example, healthier patients could be more likely to have cataract surgery and also less likely to develop dementia. However, the authors took this into account, using statistical analyses of the patients’ data. The results couldn’t be explained by any known factors, such as how healthy the patients were overall.
How could cataract surgery reduce dementia risk?
Researchers believe that the effect of cataract surgery could be explained by its effect on brain activity. Sensory inputs, such as visual data, help to keep the brain active. The more active the brain is, the better brain cells are able to maintain their connections. Whenever the brain is deprived of sensory inputs, dementia becomes more likely.
In people with cataracts, the brain receives less visual input. This could lead to less brain activity, which in turn causes the brain to degenerate faster. (In fact, hearing loss is also known to increase the risk of dementia, through a similar mechanism.) When a person has surgery to remove cataracts, this restores normal levels of visual input to the brain. That helps to protect the brain from degeneration, and allow it to maintain its connections for longer. This translates into a lower risk of dementia.
San Diego Carlsbad Encinitas cataract surgeon
Almost everyone is hoping to keep their brain healthy as they age. If you’re experiencing cataracts, then having surgery to remove them could not only help to improve your quality of life, but could also help to protect your brain health.
Our expert eye surgeons have decades of experience in performing procedures on the eye, including cataract surgery. If you’re looking for a true expert to perform your cataract procedure, we invite you to book a consultation appointment with one of our surgeons. We offer a range of IOLs (the replacement lenses used during the procedure), including premium options that could help you to have improved vision after your procedure. Please contact our front desk to book your appointment.
