Concurrent hearing and vision impairment and 8-year memory decline in community-dwelling older adults

Hearing and vision impairments are risk factors for cognitive decline; less is known about dual sensory impairment. This study quantifies the association between dual sensory impairment and 8-year change in memory among older adults.

Data (N = 5552) were from the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Memory (immediate/delayed word recall, subjective memory) was measured annually (2011 to 2019). Hearing and vision impairments were measured by self-report. Association between dual sensory impairment and 8-year change in memory was assessed using multivariate linear mixed effect models and generalized logistic mixed models.

Rate of memory decline was most accelerated among participants with dual sensory impairment. For example, 8-year decline in delayed word recall was -1.03 (95% confidene interval: -1.29, -0.77) for dual sensory impairment versus -0.79 (-0.92, -0.67) for single and -0.56 (-0.63, -0.48) for no impairment.

Older adults with dual sensory impairment may be at particularly higher risk for cognitive decline.