Correlating Ocular Physiology and Visual Function with Mild Cognitive Loss in Senior Citizens in Taiwan

Purpose: The transition of Taiwan from an aging to a super-aging society has come with a cost as more elderly now suffer from cognitive impairment. The main purpose of our study was to investigate if early detection can be developed so that timely intervention can be instituted. We analyzed the correlation of cognitive function with ocular physiology and visual functions between senior citizens aged 60 years or older in Taiwan. Methods: Thirty-six healthy subjects were recruited for the study. Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination III (ACE-III), binocular functions (including objective and subjective refraction, distance and near dissociated phoria, stereopsis, contrast sensitivity, adult developmental eye movement (ADEM), and ocular physiology (by using optical coherence tomography, OCT, and macular pigment measurement, MPS) were performed, and the data were analyzed via independent t-test, chi-square test, Pearson correlation, linear regression, and ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve. Results: Data analysis showed that (1) patients with poor eye movement had a strong correlation with the total score and all dimensions of cognitive functions, (2) the thickness of the macula had a strong correlation with attention and memory, and (3) patients with poor eye movement and poor stereopsis in combination with thinner inferior macula appeared to have lower cognitive abilities. Discussion and Conclusions: Cognitive dysfunction is not readily identified during the early stage of cognitive decline. The use of simple and inexpensive ADEM or stereopsis test and comparing the OCT results that are popular in optometry clinics for reference can be diagnostic in identifying patients with mild cognitive impairments. With the combined use of macular pigment density or retinal thickness measurements, it was possible to effectively predict the early degradation of cognition.