Are hearing and visual dysfunction associated with cognitive impairment? A population-based approach

This study examined the relationship between cognitive functioning and self-reported sensory functioning in a population-based (N = 3,097) survey of the elderly. Obtained were two performance measures (a mental status examination and a recall memory test) and two subjective measures (global self-rated memory and self-reported memoryproblems) of cognitive function. Poorer self-rated vision was associated with poorer scores on the performance measures; poorer self-rated hearing was associated with poorer scores on the performance and subjective measures. Adjustment for age, educational attainment, physical health status, and depressive symptoms accounted for most of the relationships between the performance measures of cognition and vision and hearing function and the subjective measures of cognition and vision function. However, subjective measures of cognitive function remained related to hearing after adjustment. Thus clear evidence of a relationship between sensory function and cognitive performance in a population of noninstitutionalized elderly persons was not found. Cognitive decline among the elderly has sometimes been related to impaired sensory functioning. Some have reported that poor hearing is related to poor cognitive functioning (Birren, Botwinick, Weiss, & Morrison