A recent study published in the Journal for the American Medical Association Internal Medicine shows that those who undergo cataract surgery are at far less risk of developing dementia than those with cataracts who do not have the surgery.

President and CEO of Fighting Blindness Canada, Doug Earle, says the survey confirms what many already believed to be true.

He says over 3,000 people were tracked from 1994 to 2018, and those who underwent cataract surgery were found ten years afterward to have a 30 per cent decrease in the likelihood of developing dementia.

Earle says vision loss can reduce social activity and exercise which can contribute to cognitive decline. He says it’s also been shown that improved vision also has a positive effect on the brain.

He says with a replacement lens, the brain is receiving an increase in sensory messages, and gets more “exercise” which improves brain function.