Overview

• A New Zealand study involving 900 participants found that retinal thinning and changes in blood vessel size are linked to higher dementia risk by age 45.
• The findings suggest that narrower arterioles and wider venules in the retina may reflect insufficient blood flow to the brain, a potential contributor to dementia.
• The research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, used data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a 45-year longitudinal cohort.
• Experts emphasize that while retinal imaging shows promise as a low-cost dementia screening method, it remains experimental and cannot yet predict individual outcomes.
• Researchers hope advancements, such as AI analysis of eye scans, could eventually enhance early detection of dementia-related conditions.