Vision and hearing loss doubles risk of frailty

A study led by the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), in collaboration with Johns Hopkins and Harvard universities, has shown that the combination of vision and hearing problems doubles the chances of suffering frailty syndrome in middle-aged and elderly adults.

The work, published in Aging and Diseaseanalyzed data from more than 105,000 participants between 39 and 72 years old from the UK Biobank cohort, as explained by the UAM in a statement.

The results reveal that both vision and hearing loss, independently, increase the risk of frailty. However, when both are presented simultaneouslythe impact is significantly greater.

“Our findings suggest that the evaluation of sensory function could be key to identifying the people at higher risk of frailty in early phases, which would open the door to more effective preventive strategies,” explained Humberto Yévenes-Briones, professor at the UAM Faculty of Medicine and first author of the study.

Specifically, frailty is a geriatric syndrome characterized by decreased physiological reserve and one greater vulnerability to stressful situations. It is associated with longer hospital stays, greater dependency, premature mortality and high social and healthcare costs.

According to the authors of this study, the coexistence of sensory deficits “could accelerate frailty by limit mobility, reduce physical activity, increase the risk of falls and promote social isolation“. In this context, they point out that early identification of vision and hearing loss in middle-aged adults could contribute to preventing the syndrome and its more serious consequences.

“This work provides evidence on the need to integrate the sensory evaluation in routine clinical practice, not only in older people, but also in earlier stages of adult life,” the researchers highlight. In any case, they warn that longitudinal studies will be necessary to confirm these results and allow specific interventions to be designed.