The correlation between sensory impairments and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults:a cohort study based on CHARLS

Objective:To explore the longitudinal correlation between sensory impairments and depressive symptoms to provide evidence for the prevention of depression. Methods:This study utilized data from the China health and retirement longitudinal study (CHARLS) spanning the years 2011 to 2020. Sensory impairments were defined by self- reported indicators of hearing and visual impairments. Participants were categorized into four groups based on their hearing and visual conditions:no sensory impairment (NSI) group, hearing impairment only (HI) group, vision impairment only (VI) group, and dual sensory impairments (DSL) group. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). The longitudinal association between sensory impairments and depressive symptoms was investigated using Cox proportional hazard models. Results:A total of 12,952 participants were included in the study, with 745 (5.8%) in the HI group, 2, 756 (21.3%) in the VI group, and 671 (5.2%) in the DSL group. During a median follow-up period of 5.42 years, 5,498 participants exhibited depressive symptoms. Cox proportional hazard model results showed that in the unadjusted model, the risk of depressive symptoms was higher in the HI, VI, and DSL groups compared with the NSI group (P＜0.05). After adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors, the risk of depressive symptoms in the HI group was 1.24 times higher than that in the NSI group (95% CI:1.09-1.41), the VI group was 1.20 times (95% CI:1.11-1.29), and the DSL group was 1.37 times (95% CI:1.21-1.56). Conclusion:There is a longitudinal association between self-reported visual, hearing, or dual sensory impairments and depressive symptoms. Attention should be focused on the mental health of individuals with hearing and vision impairments.