Getting your eyes examined regularly and having vision problems corrected could reduce a person's risk of developing dementia later in life, the results of a new study indicate.

US researchers found that when compared with people who felt their vision was poor, those who rated their own vision as very good or better were 63% less likely to develop dementia over an average follow-up period of eight-and-a-half years.

Furthermore, people with vision problems who failed to visit an eye doctor, or who left their vision problems untreated, were nine times more likely to develop the most common type of dementia, Alzheimer's disease.

The study involved 625 elderly people, none of whom were showing signs of dementia at the start of the study.

The researchers from the University of Michigan concluded that ‘untreated poor vision is associated with cognitive decline, particularly Alzheimer's disease'.

Over 44,000 people in Ireland are affected by dementia, including around 4,000 people who are under the age of 65. Between 2002 and 2036, the number of people with dementia here is expected to increase by over 300%.

Commenting on the study, Mr Arthur Cummings, a consultant ophthalmologist at the Wellington Eye Clinic, said that the results build on previous findings from similar studies that have found links between declines in eyesight and deteriorating cognitive ability.

"The connection between both is not totally clear as yet, but is possibly down to the fact that poor vision makes it more difficult to engage in healthy lifestyle habits known to control dementia risk, such as regular exercise and mentally stimulating activities like reading," he explained.

Details of these findings are published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

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