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Abstract

<p><b>BACKGROUND: </b>Visual impairment could worsen sleep/wake disorders and cognitive decline.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>To examine interrelations among self-reported visual impairment, sleep, and cognitive decline in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Miami-site.</p><p><b>METHOD: </b>HCHS/SOL Miami-site participants ages 45-74 years (n = 665) at Visit-1, who returned for cognitive test 7-years later (SOL-INCA). Participants completed the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ), validated sleep questionnaires and test for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) at Visit-1. We obtained verbal episodic learning and memory, verbal fluency, processing speed, and executive functioning at Visit-1 and at SOL-INCA. Processing speed/executive functioning were added to SOL-INCA. We examined global cognition and change using a regression-based reliable change index, adjusting for the time lapse between Visit-1 and SOL-INCA. We used regression models to test whether 1) persons with OSA, self-reported sleep duration, insomnia, and sleepiness have an increased risk for visual impairment, 2a) visual impairment is associated with worse cognitive function and/or decline, and 2b) sleep disorders attenuate these associations.</p><p><b>RESULT: </b>Sleepiness (β= 0.04; p < 0.01) and insomnia (β= 0.04; p < 0.001) were cross-sectionally associated with visual impairment, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, behavioral factors, acculturation, and health conditions. Visual impairment was associated with lower global cognitive function at Visit-1 (β= -0.16; p < 0.001) and on average 7-years later (β= -0.18; p < 0.001). Visual impairment was also associated with a change in verbal fluency (β= -0.17; p < 0.01). OSA, self-reported sleep duration, insomnia, and sleepiness did not attenuate any of the associations.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>Self-reported visual impairment was independently associated with worse cognitive function and decline.</p>

Year of Publication
2023
Journal
J Alzheimers Dis
Volume
92
Issue
4
Number of Pages
1257-1267
Date Published
2023
ISSN Number
1875-8908
DOI
10.3233/JAD-221073
Alternate Journal
J Alzheimers Dis
PMID
36872780
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