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Associations of visual, hearing, and dual sensory impairment with motoric cognitive risk syndrome: Observational and
Haixu Liang1,2, Yinhao Liang1,2, Yixuan Zheng1,2
1School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
Background:
Dementia is associated with individual vision impairment (VI) and hearing impairment (HI). However, little is known about their associations with motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), a pre-dementia stage. We investigated the association of VI, HI, and dual sensory impairment (DSI) with MCR and to further evaluate causal relationships using Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.
Methods:
First, an observational study was conducted in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Evaluate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of VI, HI, and DSI with MCR using the logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazard models, respectively. Second, evaluate the causal association between VI and HI with MCR using MR analysis. The GWAS data was used for genetic instruments, including 88,250 of European ancestry (43,877 cases and 44,373 controls) and 504,307 with "white British" ancestry (100,234 cases and 404,073 controls), respectively; MCR information was obtained from the GWAS with 22,593 individuals. Inverse variance weighted was the primary method and sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the robustness of MR methods.
Results:
In the observational study, VI (HR: 1.767, 95%CI: 1.331-2.346; p < 0.001), HI (HR: 1.461, 95%CI: 1.196-1.783; p < 0.001), and DSI (HR: 1.507, 95%CI: 1.245-1.823; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with increased risk of MCR. For the MR, no causal relationship between VI (OR: 0.902, 95% CI: 0.593-1.372; p = 0.631) and HI (OR: 1.016, 95% CI: 0.989-1.043; p = 0.248) with MCR risk, which is consistent with the sensitivity analysis.
Conclusion:
VI, HI, and DSI were significantly associated with MCR, but MR analysis failed to provide evidence of their causal relationship. Emphasized the importance of sensory impairment screening in identifying high-risk populations for dementia.
Insights
Vision and hearing impairments are linked to a higher risk of motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), a pre-dementia stage. However, genetic analysis did not confirm a causal link, highlighting the need for sensory screening in dementia prevention.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
Background:
- Dementia is linked to vision impairment (VI) and hearing impairment (HI).
- The association between sensory impairments and motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), a pre-dementia stage, is less understood.
- This study investigates VI, HI, and dual sensory impairment (DSI) in relation to MCR risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between VI, HI, and DSI with MCR in a large cohort.
- To evaluate the potential causal relationship between VI and HI with MCR using Mendelian randomization (MR).
Main Methods:
- Observational study using China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data.
- Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models for cross-sectional and longitudinal associations.
- Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis utilizing GWAS data for genetic association with MCR.
Main Results:
- VI, HI, and DSI were significantly associated with an increased risk of MCR in the observational analysis.
- MR analysis did not find evidence of a causal relationship between VI or HI and MCR risk.
- Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the MR findings.
Conclusions:
- Sensory impairments (VI, HI, DSI) are associated with MCR, suggesting their role as potential early indicators.
- Despite observational links, current genetic evidence does not support a causal role for VI or HI in MCR development.
- Highlights the importance of screening for sensory impairments to identify individuals at higher risk for cognitive decline and dementia.
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