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This pdf shows just a few consequences of visual impairment and how much more likely they are to occur. Depression and anxiety, along with these other consequences, can affect or put more strain on the brain leading to cognitive decline. "3x more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders".

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This articles talks about how a loss of vision along with hearing can greatly affect cognition. According to multiple studies, they mention that those with poor vision have been found to have cognitive impairment overtime. This source supports my claim about how poor vision can affect the brain and getting them corrected can help. Fifield writes that "...  poor vision leads to social isolation and disengagement, which provide less of the stimulation needed to maintain a sharp mind".

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New studies add to a convincing body of research linking loss of sensory function to cognitive decline, including, in some instances, dementia.

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Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Relationship Between Neuroticism and Cognitive Ability in Advanced Old Age: The Moderating Role of Severe Sensory Impairment

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This source talks about how personality can affect cognition. Along with this, they also found that sensory impairment heavily impacts our cognitive abilities. This source supports my claim about how there is a strong correlation between vision and cognitive performance. "Higher baseline neuroticism was consistently and robustly related to lower cognitive performance at both measurement occasions in visually and hearing impaired older adults ..." (Wettstein).

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Association of Visual Impairment with Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults in Taiwan

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Describes the studies they conducted and their results. Talks about how today preventing cognitive impairment is becoming a big issue. They also explain the relationship they have found between vision loss and cognitive function. This source supports my claim about how vision is a key factor in cognitive decline. Mentions that finding treatment or ways to delay this decline is very important. "In theory, visual impairment will hinder these cognitive stimulation activities, which can easily lead to cognitive decline" (I-Mo Fang).

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Association of visual impairment with cognitive decline among older adults in Taiwan

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Neurologist Dr. Begeti describes how the process of not being able to see perfectly well can further damage the eyes. She explains that this creates a lot of strain so your brain is has to work even harder to get you to see. In turn, this will initiate even more cognitive problems. That being said, your brain won't need to work harder if you correct your vision early on. Although for some, they might not always work to stop cognitive impairment. Instead, she writes that making good lifestyle choices may be the determining factor (Bunch 2021). This source doesn't give clear answer, but rather talks about both sides of the argument. It gives good different perspectives on my topic. "Researchers concluded that those whose vision scored poorly initially were more likely to experience problems with memory, attention, and other cognitive functions over time".

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The Eye-Brain Connection: How Vision Loss Causes Cognitive Issues

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Neurologists describe the eye-brain connection, or how vision loss affects brain health, and offer solutions to avoid the issue.

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"Vision and Its Effects on Aging"
This essay discusses the different views on how cognition is affected by eyesight. It involves many perspectives from different authors and communities. "NIA explains how loss of vision affects so many people and that not only does it impact our cognitive abilities, but also our mental health. Based on their studies, they concluded that having good eyesight plays a much bigger role than we thought".

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Many things can lead to cognitive decline but there are also lots of ways to help slow it. Having regular eye and doctor checkups are very important in identifying any loss of vision or eye conditions. If you resort to wearing glasses, you should make sure that they are actually helping your vision. Correcting vision early on is proven to help slow the process of cognitive decline. By making sure you can see well, it will put less strain on your eyes so your brain won't have to work harder. This source helps prove the idea that glasses and having good vision can at least slow cognitive impairment. "She and her co-authors concluded that maintaining good vision as one ages may be an effective way to minimize the decline in cognitive function in older adults" (Brody).

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A growing body of evidence suggests that when older people's brains have to work harder to see, declines in language, memory, attention and more could follow.

Credit... Gracia Lam

Medical practice tends to divide its clients - you and me - into specialties defined by body parts: ophthalmology, neurology, gastroenterology, psychiatry and the like. But in fact, the human body doesn't function in silos. Rather, it works as an integrated whole, and what goes awry in one part of the body can affect several others.

I've written about the potential harm of hearing loss to brain health, as well as to the health of our bones, hearts and emotional well-being.

Untreated hearing loss can increase the risk of dementia. Even those with slightly less than perfect hearing can have measurable cognitive deficits.

Now, a growing body of research is demonstrating that vision losscan affect the brain's function, too. As with hearing, if the brain has to work extra hard to make sense of what our eyes see, it can take a toll on cognitive function.

The latest study, published in JAMA Network Open in July, followed 1,202 men and women aged 60 to 94 for an average of nearly seven years. All were part of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, and had vision and cognition tests every one to four years between 2003 and 2019.

The researchers found that those who scored poorly on initial tests of visual acuity - how well, for example, they could see the letters on an eye chart from a given distance - were more likely to have cognitive decline over time, including deficits in language, memory, attention and the ability to identify and locate objects in space.

Other vision issues, like with depth perception and the ability to see contrasts, also had deleterious effects on cognitive ability.

The lead researcher, Bonnielin Swenor, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, said that the new study "adds to mounting longitudinal data showing that vision impairment can lead to cognitive decline in older adults."

Lest you think that the relationship is reversed - that cognitive decline impairs vision - another study that Dr. Swenor participated in showed that when both functions were considered, vision impairment was two times more likely to affect cognitive decline than the other way around. This study, published in 2018 in JAMA Ophthalmology and led by Diane Zheng from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, included 2,520 community-dwelling adults ages 65 to 84, whose vision and cognitive function were periodically tested. She and her co-authors concluded that maintaining good vision as one ages may be an effective way to minimize the decline in cognitive function in older adults.

"When people have vision loss, they change the way they live their lives. They decrease their physical activity and they decrease their social activity, both of which are so important for maintaining a healthy brain," Dr. Swenor said. "It puts them on a fast tack to cognitive decline."

But identifying and correcting vision loss early on can help, Dr. Zheng said. She suggested regular eye checkups - at least once every two years, and more often if you have diabetes, glaucoma or other conditions that may damage vision. "Make sure you can see well through your glasses," she urged.

There are "vision impairments that glasses won't fix," Dr. Swenor said, like age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. Retinal disease began to compromise Dr. Swenor's vision in her mid-20s. Those with problems like hers can benefit from something called low vision rehabilitation, a sort of physical therapy for the eyes that helps visually impaired people adapt to common situations and help them function better in society.

Dr. Swenor, for instance, can see objects in a high-contrast situation, like a black cat against a white fence, but has trouble seeing the difference between similar colors. She can't pour white milk into a white mug without spilling it, for example. Her solution: Use a dark-colored mug. Finding such accommodations is an ongoing task, but it enables her to continue to function well professionally and socially.

Society, too, needs to help people with visual impairment function safely outside the home. Most things in hospitals are white, for example, which creates safety hazards for people with diminished contrast sensitivity. As a driver of 50 years, I've noticed that road barriers that used to be the same color as the road surface are now more often rendered in high contrast colors like orange or yellow, which undoubtedly reduces crashes even for people who can see perfectly.

"We need to create a more inclusive society that accommodates people with vision impairment," Dr. Swenor said.

People who have trouble with depth perception can also incorporate helpful design features into the home. Placing colored strips on stair risers, varying textures of furniture and color-coding objects can all improve the ability to navigate safely. People who can no longer read books may also listen to audiobooks, podcasts or music instead, Dr. Swenor said.

The link between visual impairment and cognitive impairment "is not a doomsday message," she added. "There are many ways to foster brain health for people with vision loss."

Step one may be getting a Medicare extension bill through congress, which in turn might prompt private insurers to also cover vision care and rehabilitation. The Democrats' current proposal to extend Medicare benefits to cover vision care would more than pay for itself in the long run by diminishing already-covered medical costs for cognitive and physical decline.

Case in point: The cost of a single hip replacement resulting from a vision-impaired fall would exceed the cost of many hundreds of eye exams and needed vision corrections.

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A growing body of evidence suggests that when older people's brains have to work harder to see, declines in language, memory, attention and more could follow. Medical practice tends to divide its clients - you and me - into specialties defined by body parts: ophthalmology, neurology, gastroenterology, psychiatry and the like.