Sensory Disabilities Tied to Worse Subsequent Mental Health in Seniors

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For older adults, having greater numbers of sensory disabilities is associated with worse subsequent mental health, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Alexander Z. Wang, from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and colleagues examined the impact of hearing, vision, and olfaction disability on mental health outcomes in older U.S. adults using data from the first three rounds of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (2005/6, 2010/11, and 2015/16). Data were analyzed from 3,940 respondents during 10 years of follow-up.

The researchers observed an association for a greater number of sensory disabilities with a greater risk for low self-rated mental health, frequent depressive symptoms, frequent perceived stress, and frequent loneliness symptoms over time. Older adults with a greater number of sensory disabilities had an increased risk for low self-rated mental health and loneliness symptoms over time after adjustment for covariates (hazard ratios, 1.22 and 1.13, respectively). Older adults with vision disability had an increased risk for low self-rated mental health and loneliness symptoms in a Cox proportional hazards model (hazard ratios, 1.34 and 1.21, respectively).

“Increased awareness about the role that sensory disabilities may have on mental health in older adults may help physicians and other health care professionals to provide targeted assessment of specific mental health conditions for older adults based on their sensory disabilities and provide more personalized care to patients,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Sanofi/Regeneron and Optinose.

Abstract/Full Text