We are unaware of any studies on the effect of low vision rehabilitation on cognition that have been able to include participants with low vision (e.g., visual acuity below 20/60) that had not (yet) received rehabilitation services. Low vision rehabilitation is a service that aims at improving daily living by providing techniques to use remaining intact vision. The link between visual and cognitive functioning and aging has a long-standing knowledge base ( Lindenberger and Baltes, 1994 Lindenberger et al., 2001) however, the majority of correlational explorations of vision and cognition have been conducted with population-based data sets ( Hong et al., 2016) or have focused on specific sub-populations with cognitive or visual diagnoses that have received treatment or are being treated. Interestingly, research indicates that visual decline due to AMD, and vision loss in general, are correlated with age-related cognitive decline, and persons with AMD are at higher risk of developing dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease ( Rogers and Langa, 2010 Zhou et al., 2016 Nagarajan et al., 2022). The World Health Organization (2019) predicts that the number of individuals with AMD will increase 1.2-fold from 2020 (roughly 195 million) to 2030 (roughly 243 million). Low vision (LV) has been described as a decline in visual functions that alters the ability to complete visual tasks, and that cannot be treated with corrective or contact lenses, or other surgical or medical interventions ( Corn and Erin, 2010). Some visual functions change as a result of visual pathologies, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy, all of which can cause low vision ( Wittich and Gagné, 2016). The present study is relevant to clinicians who are assessing the cognitive status of older adults, such as neuropsychologists, because it highlights the importance of considering low vision when administering neuropsychological tests, especially to persons who have not yet received rehabilitation for their visual impairment.Ĭhanges in vision, such as the inevitable arrival of the need for reading glasses in middle age (presbycusis) are expected as a part of the normal aging process ( Haegerstrom-Portnoy et al., 2002) however, there are eye diseases associated with aging that can further impair the visual abilities of older adults ( Wong et al., 2014). Correlations between contrast sensitivity and memory, as well as between global cognition and visual aid use remained significant after controlling for age and education. Results and discussion: Correlations among global cognition and visual aid use, memory and reading speed, memory and contrast sensitivity, memory, and visual aid use, and between executive functions and contrast sensitivity were significant. They underwent vision (reading acuity, reading speed, contrast sensitivity), hearing (audiogram, speech-in-noise perception) and cognitive (global cognition, memory, executive functions) testing, and demographic information was obtained. Methods: Thirty-eight older adults (age range: 66–97 years old) with a visual impairment (acuity <20/70) were recruited before the onset of their low vision rehabilitation. The second objective was to examine which of these correlations would remain significant once established variables that influence cognition are statistically removed (e.g., age, education). We hypothesized that more severe impairment of visual acuity and contrast sensitivity would be correlated with more advanced levels of cognitive impairment. Objectives and hypothesis: The aim of this pilot study was to assess correlations between visual and cognitive functions in older adults referred for low vision rehabilitation. Low vision rehabilitation could possibly be a protective factor against cognitive decline, as it provides the clients with compensatory strategies to overcome their visual deficits. Research indicates that vision and hearing loss is correlated with age-related cognitive decline, and with a higher risk of developing dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. However, some of these changes can become pathological. Introduction: The occurrence of age-related vision changes is inevitable. 4School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.3Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.2Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada.1School of Optometry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.Gabrielle Aubin 1, Natalie Phillips 2, Atul Jaiswal 1, Aaron Paul Johnson 2, Sven Joubert 3, Vanessa Bachir 1, Eva Kehayia 4 and Walter Wittich 1,2,4 *
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