Study finds vision screenings fail to help patients with dementia

November 23, 2009

Earlier this month, Medical News Today reported that two separate studies have found vision care to be lacking for patients with dementia. Because patients with dementia often cannot clearly express themselves, eye care professionals are charged with different methods of determining the quality of their vision.

According to the news source, the first study stated that in regards to patients with dementia there is "a fundamental lack of sensitivity about sight loss." The second study concluded that patients who suffer from both dementia and sight loss tend to fall into an overlooked "forgotten" group.

Thomas Pocklington Trust, a nonprofit organization that focuses on sight loss, is urging the eye care world to seek out new methods of treating patients.

"Sight loss plays a major role in people's experience of dementia, yet it is almost entirely excluded from current models of care," said Dr. Angela McCullagh, research and development director at Thomas Pocklington Trust. "A change in policy and practice is needed, where sight loss is made visible in dementia care."

Regardless of overall health, the American Optometric Association recommends that Americans over the age of sixty receive annual eye care exams to screen for eye health problems like Glaucoma, Cataracts or Age-Related Macular Degeneration.