Dual sensory loss and cognitive decline: evidence from the EpiFloripa Aging study

The aim of this study was to determine the association between dual sensory loss (hearing and vision) and cognitive decline in older adults living in the South of Brazil. We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the third wave of the EpiFloripa Aging study (2017-2019), involving individuals aged 60 years and over living in urban areas of Florianópolis, in the state of Santa Catarina. The dependent variable was cognitive decline, assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination, while the main independent variable was sensory loss. Logistic regression analysis was performed. A total of 1,335 older adults participated, most of whom were women (63.0%) and white (88.3%). The findings show that 10.8% of the respondents had dual sensory loss and 20.5% had cognitive decline. In the final model, individuals with dual sensory loss had 4.21 times higher odds (95%CI: 2.06-8.59) of cognitive decline. Participants with just hearing loss (OR: 1.98; 95%CI: 1.13-3.45) also had higher odds of the outcome. Respondents with combined hearing and vision loss had 321% higher odds of having cognitive decline. These findings suggest that combined loss of two sensory functions may exacerbate the impact of sensory loss on the cognitive capacity of older adults.