Dual sensory impairment and psychosocial factors. Findings based on a nationally representative sample

BACKGROUND: A considerable proportion of individuals in late life experience dual sensory impairment (DSI), which can be defined as the combined presence of hearing and visual problems. However, there is little knowledge regarding the psychosocial correlates of DSI. Consequently, our objective of this study was to identify the link between DSI and psychosocial factors in middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS: Data were used from the sixth wave of the nationally representative German Ageing Survey. Individuals were classified as dual sensory impaired when both visual and hearing impairments existed. As psychosocial correlates, we included life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, depressive symptoms, loneliness, social isolation, self-esteem and autonomy. Outcome measures were quantified using widely established scales. In our analytical sample, there were 5138 observations.

RESULTS: Bivariate analysis showed that, compared to individuals with no sensory impairment, individuals with DSI had markedly worse psychosocial factors (in terms of life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, depressive symptoms, loneliness, social isolation, self-esteem and autonomy). Adjusting for various covariates, regression analysis showed that individuals with DSI consistently experienced worse psychosocial factors compared to individuals with no sensory impairment.

CONCLUSION: Our current study stressed the cross-sectional association between DSI and worse psychosocial factors. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings.