['
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
', 'loss
', 'can
', '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.”
', 'Correcting
', 'poor
', 'vision
', 'is
', 'good
', 'for
', 'the
', 'brain.
', '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.
', 'When
', 'glasses
', 'alone
', 'aren’t
', 'enough
', '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.
', 'Home
', 'improvements
', 'may
', 'foster
', 'brain
', 'health
', '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.
']