Relationship between Retinal Vascular Occlusions and Cognitive Dementia in a Large Cross-Sectional Cohort

PURPOSE: To examine the association between cognitive dementia and retinal vascular occlusions. DESIGN: A retrospective, cross-sectional study. METHODS: Single-institution study population: we reviewed the electronic medical records of 37,208 individuals older than 65 years of age who were evaluated by an ophthalmologist or an optometrist and who also had a medical visit to our institution over a 6-year period. Individuals with and without retinal vascular occlusions were identified by International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10) diagnostic codes. MAIN OUTCOME: we analyzed the association between dementia and retinal vascular occlusions after adjusting for covariates which included age, sex, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension using multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Compared to subjects without retinal vascular occlusions, those with retinal vascular occlusions had a higher prevalence of dementia (6.7% vs. 9.3%, respectively; P < .001). After adjusting for either age or stroke, there were no significant associations between retinal vascular occlusions and dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with retinal vascular occlusions have a higher prevalence of dementia. However, this association is secondary to shared underlying risk factors in this population, such as older age and stroke. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Individuals with retinal vascular occlusions have a higher prevalence of dementia, but this association is mainly due to shared underlying risk factors such as older age and stroke, rather than a direct impact.