At Kaiser Permanente Washington, over 5,000 elderly participants were examined as part of the Adult Changes in Thought study, uncovering a new association.
According to the study released in JAMA Internal Medicine, the participants that had cataract surgery were at an estimated 30 percent lower risk of dementia compared to their counterparts.
“The primary exposure of interest was cataract extraction. Data on diagnosis of cataract or glaucoma and exposure to surgery were extracted from electronic medical records,” the JAMA findings showed.
“Extensive lists of dementia-related risk factors and health-related variables were obtained from study visit data and electronic medical records.”
“This cohort study found that cataract extraction was significantly associated with lower risk of dementia development. If validated in future studies, cataract surgery may have clinical relevance in older adults at risk of developing dementia,” the findings also state.
