Does Wearing Glasses Really Mean You’re Smarter? This Study Says Yes

We’ve been right all along, wearing glasses actually does mean you’re smarter.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers found that intelligent people are 30% more likely to need glasses.

The research team from the University of Edinburgh analyzed genetic information of over 300,000 individuals from existing genomic databases, “in which participants submitted samples for DNA analysis, answered questionnaires, and underwent tests designed to give a measure of their general cognitive ability,” according to Science Alert.

Upon analysis, there were 148 regions of DNA found that were associated with having better cognitive function, including 58 sites that hadn’t previously been linked to intelligence.

The participants from the existing studies were all of European descent between the ages of 16 and 102, and those who exhibited higher intelligence were 28% more likely to need glasses and 32% more likely to be shortsighted.

The same individuals of predicted higher intelligence also had a lower risk of hypertension, heart attack, angina, lung cancer or osteoarthritis.

According to lead researcher Ian Deary, “We also need to study our results closely to see what they can tell us about the possibility of understanding the declines in cognitive function that happen with illness and in older age,” such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The exact reasons for the association between better cognitive function and poor eyesight are unknown, however, there are also many other factors that contribute to intelligence besides genetics.