WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- Scientists have discovered that subjects who underwent cataract surgery had nearly 30% lower risk of developing dementia from any cause compared with those who did not.
More than 5,000 participants older than 65 took part at the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study which is a long-standing, Seattle-based observational study at Kaiser Permanente Washington . Based on the longitudinal data of over 3,000 ACT study participants, researchers found the lowered risk persisted for at least a decade after surgery. Cataract surgery was also associated with lower risk of Alzheimer disease dementia specifically.
“These results are consistent with the notion that sensory input to the brain is important to brain health,” said co-author Dr. Eric B. Larson, a principal investigator of the ACT study, and senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute.
Lead researcher Dr. Cecilia S Lee said another hypothesis is that after cataract surgery, people are getting more blue light. “Some special cells in the retina are associated with cognition and regulate sleep cycles, and these cells respond well to blue light,” she said, “Cataracts specifically block blue light, and cataract surgery could reactivate those cells.”