It’s well known that exercise and a healthy diet promotes cardiovascular health, but new research shows it goes farther than that. People who engage in a healthy lifestyle are also able to lower their risk for eye-related disease—especially diabetic retinopathy.

Data shows that more than one million cases of ocular diseases that often lead to vision and impairment could have been prevented. These diseases include age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataract, and glaucoma.

One way to prevent disease

One way to prevent eye-related disease, researchers have found in the American Journal of Medicine, is through healthy lifestyle and behavior habits. Cardiovascular health depends on a healthy lifestyle, so it can be used as a benchmark for identifying a person’s risk for ocular disease.

According to the American Heart Association’s health metric, known as Life’s Simple Seven (LS7), seven habits that can be beneficial for heart health—and, subsequently, eye health—are:

1. Manage blood pressure.
2. Control cholesterol.
3. Reduce blood sugar.
4. Get active.
5. Eat better.
6. Lose weight.
7. Stop smoking.

Researchers referenced the LS7 to better understand how the habits might relate to ocular disease.

What they did

Study investigators evaluated data from more than 6,000 adults, aged 40 or more years old, who took part in the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants on average are 57 years old, and more than half of the participants were women. The investigators then analyzed participants’ LS7 scores.

What they found

The study determined that a one-unit increase in LS7 scores was associated with reduced odds for age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. Individuals who had optimal cardiovascular health had 97% lower odds for diabetic retinopathy compared to individuals with poor cardiovascular health.

What it means

Because there is a significant overlap of the risk factors for ocular diseases and cardiovascular disease, the researchers recommend that eye health screening be a part of screenings for cardiovascular diseases.

The lead researcher notes, “We hope that our study findings will encourage adherence to healthy lifestyles to prevent these age-related diseases while also leading to increased collaborations between cardiologists, optometrists, and ophthalmologists to better prevent cardiovascular and ocular diseases.”

*Elsevier. (2020, August 20). A healthy lifestyle for cardiovascular health also promotes good eye health. Medical Xpress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-healthy-lifestyle-cardiovascular-health-good.html