Abstract
Purpose :
Carotenoids have been reported to be associated with dementia and glaucoma, which are both neurodegenerative conditions characterized by neuronal loss leading to cognitive and visual dysfunction. However, the protective role of carotenoids against cognitive impairment and glaucomatous visual field defects remains largely unknown. We performed a retrospective, observational clinical study to explore the association between skin carotenoid (SC) levels and cognitive impairment screened by Mini-Cog in patients with glaucoma.
Methods :
812 eyes of 406 participants (mean age, 79.5 ± 7.6 years; 228 men, 178 women) with primary open-angle glaucoma (57.6 %), exfoliation glaucoma (18.6 %), and other glaucoma types (23.8 %), whose SC measurements were available, were included. Clinical data including SC levels, ophthalmologic measurements including best corrected visual acuity, highest IOP, lens status, the number of antiglaucoma medications, mean deviation (MD) of the visual field, and types of glaucoma, and cognitive function screened by Mini-Cog were collected by chart review. Comparisons of clinical parameters between the two groups divided by Mini-Cog results were performed with G test or Fisher’s exact probability test followed by mixed-effects regression models.
Results :
Twenty-eight of 406 participants (6.9%) were Mini-Cog positive (i.e., suspect of cognitive impairment). The mean SC level of the Mini-Cog positive group was lower than that of Mini-Cog negative group (269.5 ± 86.4 and 329.2 ± 120.4, respectively) (p=0.0104). The MD of the Mini-Cog positive group was significantly worse than that of Mini-Cog negative group (-19.64 ± 9.07 and -12.46 ± 9.28, respectively) (p<0.0001). By mixed-effects regression analysis, Mini-Cog positive was significantly associated with lower SC levels (p=0.0006). However, SC level was not significantly associated with the visual field mean deviation (p=0.3035).
Conclusions :
Cognitive impairment assessed by Mini-Cog was associated with lower SC levels in patients with glaucoma. Thus, this study highlights that the carotenoids intake may be beneficial for the prevention of dementia. The protective role of carotenoids for glaucoma warrants further study.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.