Associations of sensory impairment and cognitive function in middle-aged and older Chinese population: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Background Little is known about the associations between vision impairment, hearing impairment, and cognitive function. The aim of this study was to examine whether vision and hearing impairment were associated with a high risk for cognitive impairment in middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Methods A total of 13914 Chinese adults from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) baseline were selected for analysis. Sensory impairment was assessed from a single self-report question, and we categorized sensory impairment into four groups: no sensory impairment, vision impairment, hearing impairment, and dual sensory impairment. Cognitive assessment covered memory, mental state, and cognition, and the data was obtained through a questionnaire. Results Memory was negatively associated with hearing impairment (beta=-0.043, 95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.076, -0.043) and dual sensory impairment (beta=-0.033, 95% CI=-0.049, -0.017); mental status was negatively associated with vision impairment (beta=-0.034, 95% CI=-0.049, -0.018), hearing impairment (beta=-0.070, 95% CI-0.086, -0.055), and dual sensory impairment (beta=-0.054, 95% CI-0.070, -0.039); and cognition was negatively associated with vision impairment (beta=-0.028, 95% CI=-0.044, -0.013), hearing impairment (beta=-0.074, 95% CI=-0.090, -0.059), and dual sensory impairment (beta=0.052, 95% CI=-0.067, -0.036), even after adjusting for demographics, social economic factors, and lifestyle behavior. Conclusions Vision and hearing impairment are negatively associated with memory, mental status, and cognition for middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults. There were stronger negative associations between sensory impairment and cognitive-related indicators in the elderly compared to the middle-aged.