Visual Impairment, Hearing Loss and Cognitive Function in an Older Population: Longitudinal Findings from the Blue Mountains Eye Study

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.