Self-reported history of childhood vision impairment among older adults screened for dementia.

We investigated the relationship between self-reported history of visual impairment in youth and the development of dementia in later life using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) household survey, which included the Eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD-8) screen. Adults with a reported history of childhood visual impairment were found to have significantly higher odds of positive dementia screening. After adjusting for confounders, we found a twofold increase in those reporting early visual impairment compared with those who did not report early visual impairment.