A Prospective Association Between Sensory Impairment and Cognitive Performance Among Older Community-Dwelling Adults: The Role of Depressive Symptoms.
Abstract
We examined whether vision impairment (VI) and hearing impairment (HI) and dual sensory impairment (DSI) affect cognitive performance and whether depression mediates that effect. We examined 55,340 participants from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe, which assessed 32,325 participants in 2011 (baseline, Time 1), 2015 (follow-up, Time 2), sociodemographic data and health factors, self-reported VI, HI, and DSI at baseline, depression, and cognitive performance after four years. A multiple mediator model was tested using bootstrapping and resampling. At baseline, 22.9% had VI, 10.2% HI, and 10.4% had DSI. We found a significant negative association between VI (b = -0.023,
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Research summary
The paper investigates the association between sensory impairments and cognitive performance in older adults, which is relevant to understanding aging and its effects on cognitive health. However, it primarily focuses on the symptoms and mediating factors like depression rather than addressing root causes of aging or lifespan extension. Thus, while it contributes to the field of aging research, its impact is limited and more incremental than transformative.
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