Untreated vision loss and high cholesterol added as modifiable risk factors for dementia

The Lancet standing commission on dementia has included untreated vision loss and high LDL cholesterol as risk factors for the development of dementia.

The two new modifiable risk factors have been added to a list of 12 other modifiable risk factors that were identified as part of the standing commission’s 2020 report.

The risk factors that were previously outlined include less education, head injury, physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, hearing loss, depression, infrequent social contact and air pollution.

The commission highlighted that modifying these 14 factors might “prevent or delay nearly half of dementia cases.”

A series of actions are recommended to reduce dementia risk across an individual’s life course, including making screening and treatment for vision loss accessible for all.

“Increasing evidence supports an association between untreated vision loss and dementia risk and potential modification by treatment,” the authors shared.

“A clear opportunity for dementia prevention exists with treatment of visual loss,” they continued.

Consultant ophthalmologist and medical director at Newmedica, Nigel Kirkpatrick, shared that one of the key messages of the report is the importance of timely access to treatment.

“Addressing visual loss by providing access to care, as Newmedica does in support of the NHS, can only be a good thing for individuals and society,” he said.

“More widely, it means the fight against dementia needs to be fought across many different areas – but we must all play our part,” Kirkpatrick added.

Head of eye health, optometry and low vision services at RNIB, Louise Gow, shared that regular sight tests can play an important role in looking after an individual’s overall health.

“Eye tests can detect early signs of a number of health conditions, and it has now been identified that regular eye checks can be one way of lowering someone’s risk of developing some forms of dementia,” she said.

“RNIB believes that low vision services, which help people with untreatable vision loss make the most of their remaining vision, could also help lower the risk,” Gow added.