Association of Dual Sensory Impairment with Declining Physical Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Hyun Ho Kong, Kwangsoo Shin () and Chang Won Won ()
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Hyun Ho Kong: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea
Kwangsoo Shin: Graduate School of Public Health and Healthcare Management, Songeui Medical Campus, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
Chang Won Won: Elderly Frailty Research Center, Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-10

Abstract: Few studies have investigated whether dual sensory impairment (DSI) adversely affects the deterioration of physical function in older adults compared to single sensory impairment (SSI, visual or auditory). We studied the association between DSI and declining physical function by analyzing the data of 2780 Korean community-dwelling adults aged 70–84 years. Sensory impairment was assessed through pure tone audiometry and visual acuity testing. Muscle strength (handgrip strength) and physical performance (timed up and go test and short physical performance battery (SPPB)) were evaluated. In the cross-sectional analysis, DSI was associated with higher odds of having low muscle strength (odds ratio (OR), 1.78; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.27–2.48) and poor physical performance (SPPB: OR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.38–3.00) than SSI. Among all sensory impairment groups in the longitudinal analysis, DSI at baseline increased the risk of deteriorating physical performance during the follow-up period (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.31–2.88; p < 0.01) the most. DSI showed a more severe adverse effect on the decline in physical function among community-dwelling older adults than SSI. More comprehensive care is needed to prevent the deterioration of physical function in older adults due to DSI.

Keywords: sensation disorders; hearing loss; vision disorders; muscle strength; physical functional performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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