Gender difference in the relationships between vision and hearing impairments and negative well-being.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association of hearing impairment, vision impairment and their combination (dual sensory impairment) with negative well-being such as depression, subjective poor health and the reduced functional ability in community-dwelling older adults, and to determine whether any association varies by gender.


METHODS
Between 2005 and 2006, we objectively examined vision and hearing impairment (using best-corrected visual acuity and pure-tone audiometric test) in 843 people aged 65 years and older (351 males, 492 females) in a rural Japanese town. Through a home visit interview survey using a structured questionnaire, we also collected information on depression (the five-item Geriatric Depression Scale), subjective poor health, and reduced functional activity (the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology's Index of Competence).


RESULTS
We observed gender differences in the association between sensory impairment and depression. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that hearing impairment in males (adjusted odds ratio: 2.22, 95% confidence interval; 1.07-4.61) and vision impairment in females (1.91, 1.14-3.21) were related to depression. Vision impairment and dual sensory impairment were also associated with subjective poor health and reduced functional activity in both sexes.


CONCLUSIONS
Sensory impairment is significantly associated with negative well-being in older persons, and its association with depression may differ between males and females.
Harada
Sei
S
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Nishiwaki
Yuji
Y
Michikawa
Takehiro
T
Kikuchi
Yuriko
Y
Iwasawa
Satoko
S
Nakano
Makiko
M
Ishigami
Ai
A
Saito
Hideyuki
H
Takebayashi
Toru
T
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000523:psychology*