Find out how poor eye health can trigger Alzheimer’s

Glaucoma, often referred to as the “silent thief of sight” is because it damages the eyes slowly without causing any pain or giving early warning signs.

It harms the optic nerve, which is the part of your eye that sends the information of whatever you see, to the brain. If not treated, glaucoma can slowly lead to blindness.

Most of the time, glaucoma is caused by high pressure inside the eye but there is also a rare kind called normal-tension glaucoma.

In this type, the pressure in the eye is normal, but the optic nerve still becomes damaged.

Now, addressing a serious health problem—Alzheimer’s disease, which affects the brain and causes memory loss, confusion, and changes in behavior. As it gets worse, people with Alzheimer’s may even forget how to do everyday tasks.

These two diseases—glaucoma and Alzheimer’s may seem very different as one affects the eyes, and the other affects the brain. But a group of scientists in Taiwan studied to know if they might be connected.

In a large study, the researchers looked at the health records of more than 15,000 people who had normal-tension glaucoma and they compared these people to over 61,000 people who didn’t have glaucoma.

Their health was followed for 12 years.

The results were surprising as people with normal-tension glaucoma had a 52% higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease than people without glaucoma.

The risk was especially high in people who had previously had a stroke or older women. Even people who took medicine for their glaucoma still had a higher chance of getting Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Yu-Yen Chen, who led the study, said that people with normal-tension glaucoma should also be checked for signs of Alzheimer’s. 

Finding the disease early could help them get the care and support they need sooner.