Cognitive function and retinal and ischemic brain changes: the Women's Health Initiative.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine the association between retinopathy and cognitive decline or brain lesions and volumes in older women.

Methods

This study included 511 women aged 65 and older who were simultaneously enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study and the Sight Examination Study. In this analysis, we examined the link between retinopathy, assessed using fundus photography (2000-2002), cognitive performance over time assessed by the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) (1996-2007), and white matter hyperintensities and lacunar infarcts in the basal ganglia.

Results

Presence of retinopathy was associated with poorer 3MSE scores (mean difference = 1.01, SE: 0.43) (p = 0.019) over a 10-year follow-up period and greater ischemic volumes in the total bra

SUBMITTER: Haan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3310310 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature