title: Visual Impairment, Hearing Loss and Cognitive Function in an Older Population: Longitudinal Findings from the Blue Mountains Eye Study.
abstract: The presence of visual impairment (VI) and hearing loss (HL) with may be a marker for subsequent cognitive decline over time in older people. A prospective, longitudinal population-based study of the 3654 participants of the Blue Mountains Eye Study were assessed for the associations between VI and HL and a decline in mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores over a duration of 10 years from the 5-year (baseline of this report) to the 15-year follow-up visits. MMSE was assessed at the 5-, 10- and 15-year follow-up visits. A decline ≥3 scores from 5-year to 10- or 15-year visits indicated possible cognitive decline. VI was defined as best-corrected visual acuity <6/12 in the worse-eye, HL was defined as pure-tone average >40 decibels in the worse-ear and dual sensory impairment (DSI) was defined by the co-presence of VI and HL, detected at 5-year follow-up (baseline of this report). Participants with no VI and HL over the same 5- or 10-year corresponding period were controls. Associations of VI, HL and DSI with possible cognitive decline were assessed using logistic regression models adjusting for age and sex after excluding subjects with a stroke history. The presence of VI, HL or DSI was not associated with possible cognitive decline over 5 years (odds ratio (OR) 0.84, 95% confidence-intervals (CI) 0.40-1.79, OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.61-1.70 and 1.41, 95% CI 0.54-3.72, respectively) or 10 years (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.52-2.30, OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.65-1.82 and 1.15, 95% CI 0.28-4.73, respectively). There were no changes to these findings after adjustment for other potential confounders. Age was significantly associated with possible cognitive decline (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.04-1.10 for both periods). Neither visual impairment, hearing loss nor dual sensory impairment was independently associated with subsequent decline in cognition.
authors.affiliation: Centre for vision research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Centre for vision research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Centre for vision research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Burlutsky
authors.affiliation: Centre for vision research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liew
authors.affiliation: Centre for vision research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Jie Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
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