Association between Visual, Hearing and Dual Sensory Impairment and the Frailty Syndrome

Sensory loss has been associated with multiple adverse health conditions. However, the combined effect of visual and hearing impairment on frailty is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between visual, hearing, and dual-sensory impairment and frailty prevalence. This cross-sectional study investigated 105,406 participants aged ≥39 years from the UK Biobank study. Visual acuity was measured with a chart, as the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR); functional auditory capacity was measured with a digit triplet test, as the speech reception threshold in noise (SRTn). Dual sensory impairment was defined as the presence of both visual impairment (LogMAR > 0.3 units) and hearing impairment (SRTn ≥ -5.5 dB SNR). To define the frailty syndrome, two methods were used, the frailty phenotype and the FRAIL scale. Analyses were conducted using logistic models adjusted for relevant confounders. Among the participants, 54.3% were women, with a mean age of 56.8 years (SD: 8.1, range 39 to 72). The prevalence of frailty was 3.5%, defined with the frailty phenotype, and 3.6%, using the FRAIL scale. For visual impairment, the OR (95% CI) of frailty was 1.51 (1.28-1.79) for the frailty phenotype, and 1.31 (1.10-1.57), for the FRAIL scale. For hearing impairment, in comparison with having normal hearing, the OR (95% CI) associated with insufficient and poor hearing were 1.32 (1.20-1.45) and 1.83 (1.53-2.19), respectively for the frailty phenotype, and 1.32 (1.19-1.46) and 1.93 (1.60-2.33) for the FRAIL scale. Estimates for the association between dual-sensory impairment and frailty were 2.22 (1.65-2.99) for the frailty phenotype, and 1.73 (1.23-2.42) for the FRAIL scale. Visual and hearing impairments were related to frailty. Having dual-sensory impairment was associated with twice the likelihood of frailty syndrome in comparison with having none of them.