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Midlife Vision Impairment and Cognitive Function in Later Life: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, Michigan Cohort

Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: In older adults, vision impairment (VI) is associated with worse cognitive function. However, the relationship between midlife vision and future cognitive function remains unknown. METHODS: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, Michigan site, is a longitudinal cohort of midlife women aged 42-52 years at baseline. Presenting Titmus visual acuity (VA) in the better-seeing eye was assessed at baseline and categorized as no or mild VI (VA ≥20/60), or moderate or worse VI (VA <20/60). Cognitive function was measured 8 times over 15 years using the East Boston Memory Test immediate (EBMTi) and delayed (EBMTd) recall and the Digit Span Backwards (DSB) test. Linear mixed models with a random intercept and slope for age were constructed to detect associations between VI at baseline and future repeated measures of cognitive function, adjusting for age, race, education, financial strain, alcohol use, and tobacco use. RESULTS: About 394 women aged 42-52 at baseline with a maximum follow-up of 20 years were included in this analysis. After covariate adjustment, moderate or worse VI was associated with lower EMBTi (β = -0.56, p = .012), EBMTd (β = -0.60, p = .009), and DSB (β = -0.84, p = .04). While we detected significant associations between VI and levels of cognitive function scores, rates of cognitive decline as individuals aged did not vary by VI status. CONCLUSION: Moderate or worse VI, assessed during midlife, was associated with lower scores on measures of cognitive function over a 15-year period during which women transitioned from midlife to older adulthood.
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glab180
Authors: Ajay Kolli, Michelle M Hood, Carrie Karvonen-Gutierrez, Sayoko E Moroi, Joshua R Ehrlich, Brenda W Gillespie, Sarah Dougherty Wood, David C Musch
Institutions: Harvard University, University of Michigan, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Michigan Medicine, The Ohio State University, Institute for Social Research
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Office of Research on Women's Health
Awards: G1078949291, G1104801629, G1406929606, G1465859262, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: UCLA Site, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: Chicago site, G1650445419, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN): New Jersey, Novel Cilia Trafficking Mechanisms, G2886598935, G3185656352, G3223614423, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: Coordinating Center, G3612968486, G3654623655, The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN): The Impact of Midlife and the Menopause Transition on Health and Functioning in Early Old Age, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) V: Central Laboratory, G4492651742, G5299499115, G5421556210, G5445786059, Functional Status and the Menopause Transition, G6245904303, G6665133860, G6802717753, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN V): Michigan Site, G8012083396, Study of Women's Health Across the Nation(SWAN) V: Pittsburgh, G9000007842, G9000245219, Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at the University of Michigan (UM Pepper Center)
OpenAlex ID: W3176701442
FWCI: 0.947
Cites: 52
Cited by: 6
Related to: 10