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. 2022 Jul 14:14:933853.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.933853. eCollection 2022.

Age-Related Eye Diseases in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

Jacqueline Chua  1   2   3 , Zheting Zhang  1   4 , Damon Wong  1   3   5 , Bingyao Tan  1   3   5 , Bhavani Kulantayan  1 , Chelvin C A Sng  1   6 , Saima Hilal  7   8 , Narayanaswamy Venketasubramanian  7   9 , Boon Yeow Tan  10 , Carol Y Cheung  11 , Gerhard Garhöfer  12 , Alina Popa-Cherecheanu  13   14 , Tien Yin Wong  1   2 , Christopher Li-Hsian Chen  7 , Leopold Schmetterer  1   2   3   5   15   16
Affiliations

Age-Related Eye Diseases in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

Jacqueline Chua et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and age-related eye diseases pose an increasing burden as the world's population ages. However, there is limited understanding on the association of AD/cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) with age-related eye diseases.

Methods: In this cross-sectional, memory clinic-based study of multiethnic Asians aged 50 and above, participants were diagnosed as AD (n = 216), cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) (n = 252), and no cognitive impairment (NCI) (n = 124) according to internationally accepted criteria. Retinal photographs were graded for the presence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) using standard grading systems. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were used to determine the associations between neurological diagnosis and odds of having eye diseases.

Results: Over half of the adults had at least one eye disease, with AMD being the most common (60.1%; n = 356), followed by DR (8.4%; n = 50). After controlling for age, sex, race, educational level, and marital status, persons with AD were more likely to have moderate DR or worse (OR = 2.95, 95% CI = 1.15-7.60) compared with NCI. In the fully adjusted model, the neurological diagnosis was not associated with AMD (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.45-1.24).

Conclusion: Patients with AD have an increased odds of having moderate DR or worse, which suggests that these vulnerable individuals may benefit from specific social support and screening for eye diseases.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; age-related macular degeneration; cognitive impairment no dementia; dementia; diabetic retinopathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(Left panel) Color fundus photograph of the left eye without any eye diseases. (Middle panel) Color fundus photograph of the left eye with signs of intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Notably, features include large soft drusen at the macular region (white arrows), (Right panel) Color fundus photograph of the right eye with signs of severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR). Notably, features include microaneurysms and hemorrhages (yellow arrows).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Types of eye diseases by neurological diagnosis. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) status was significantly higher in patients with Alzheimer's disease whereas the presence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was similar across the neurological groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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