They noted that as many as 1 in 4 people older than 50 have undiagnosed vision problems such as cataracts or age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which could skew visual assessments of their mental sharpness.
AMD doesn't cause complete vision loss but severely impairs the ability to read, drive, cook and even recognize faces. It has no effect on mental function (cognition).
Visual impairments effect about 200 million seniors worldwide, said study leader Anne MacNamara, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of South Australia
A mistaken score in cognitive tests could have devastating ramifications, leading to unnecessary changes to a person’s living, working, financial or social circumstances, MacNamara warned in a university news release.
For example, if a mistaken score contributed to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, it could trigger psychological problems including depression and anxiety, MacNamara explained.
This study included 24 participants with normal vision who were asked to complete two cognitive tests, one dependent on vision and one dependent on verbal skills. They did the tests with and without goggles to simulate AMD.
Wearing the goggles, participants had far lower scores on the vision-dependent test but no significant change in scores on the verbal skills test, according to the study. The results were recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.
"Researchers can incorporate quick and simple screening tasks before getting people to do cognitive tests. Verbal tasks should always be part of the assessment, too," MacNamara said.
With thyroid eye disease, your immune system attacks parts of your eyes. Your eyelids, eye muscles, "eyeballs", tear glands, and other tissue can get inflamed and swollen. Your symptoms may stay stable for a while, or get better or worse over time.
Eye Swelling and Redness
Thyroid eye disease causes lots of inflammation, including in the soft tissue in and around your eyes and eyelids. You might get pain and pressure along with:
- Redness or bloodshot eyes.
- Swelling in the white parts of your eye.
- Puffy tissue around your eyes.
Your doctor might suggest at-home remedies or give you medicine to ease swelling and other symptoms.
Eyelid Retraction
Inflammation can affect the muscles that support your eyelids. They can get swollen, tight, or scarred. That’ll shorten the muscles and pull your eyelids back to expose more of the whites of your eyes. You might look like you have a surprised expression on your face. You might also have a delay in how your upper eyelid moves when you try to watch a moving object.
Your eyelids could get better on their own. But get help right away if you can’t close your eyes all the way.
Surgery may be an option to lengthen your eyelids so, it’s easier to close them. Your doctor will decide if that’s right for you.
Bulging Eyes
Swollen muscle or fat can push your eyes forward. At first, it’s inflammation that causes the bulging. But you can develop scarring over time that sticks around even after the swelling goes down. The scarring can continue to push the eyes for colors
Sensitivity to Light
People with eye inflammation often can’t handle bright lights. Your eyes may also be more sensitive to dangerous ultraviolet light from the sun. You can protect your eyes with sunglasses.
When Is It an Emergency?
Most people don’t have serious problems from thyroid eye disease. But some symptoms can threaten your eyesight. It’s rare, but you could get optic neuropathy. That’s when the muscles around your eye put pressure on your optic nerve -- the nerve that goes from your eye to your brain.
Get medical help right away if you have:
- Serious eye pain.
- Sudden or patchy vision loss.
- Problems with peripheral vision.
- Nausea or throwing up.
- Problems seeing bright colors.
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