The quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people is significantly linked to sensory impairment, which can be detected through simple physical examination. Mood level and social relationships are particularly affected by visual impairment, whereas self-sufficiency in daily living is more strongly related to hearing impairment.

The present study aimed at clarifying the relationships between the use of sensory aids and the quality of life (QOL) and mortality of elderly people suffering from sensory deprivation. We carried out a cross-sectional survey on the QOL and the sensory status of an elderly cohort and a 6-year longitudinal follow-up of mortality rates among 1192 non-institutionalized people aged 70-75 years in a North Italian town. We classified respondents into three groups: those with functionally adequate visual and hearing acuity (n = 275); those with sensory impairment, corrected by the use of sensory aids (n = 680), and those with uncorrected sensory impairment (n = 245). In the whole sample, multiple logistic regression analyses showed that an uncorrected sensory deprivation was associated with a significant and independent impairment of mood, self-sufficiency in instrumental activities of daily living and social relationships. Such impairments were not apparent in the subjects with sensory impairments who were using sensory aids. In men with uncorrected sensory impairment the unadjusted 6-year mortality rate was almost twice that of the other two groups, which did not differ from each other. No corresponding differences were detected in women. Multivariate analysis showed that the effect of the sensory aid status on mortality was indirect and mediated through the global physical health status and the social relationships. We conclude that our cross-sectional data demonstrate an association between uncorrected sensory deprivation and a low QOL; such an association was not present in subjects with corrected sensory deprivation.

in this cohort of urban elderly people, FDS is significantly associated with the NIP and indirectly with mortality.

Within this cohort of 70 to 75-year-old urban residents, FDS is associated with several QOL domains and with long-term survival. A hierarchy of reciprocal relationships exists among these parameters. The present study provides a basis for encouraging more extensive use of dentures. Longitudinal studies using oral health outcomes are warranted before clinical recommendations can be made.

Previous studies have shown that sensory impairments adversely affect the quality of life of elderly people, but have failed to demonstrate consistent results on mortality. We examined the predictive value of hearing and visual impairments on mortality in an urban population of 1140 non-institutionalized elderly subjects, aged 70-75 years. Baseline information was collected in 1986 through a door-to-door interview with a standardized questionnaire and the sensory assessment was performed using bedside tasks: the whispered voice test for hearing and the Snellen chart for vision. Overall mortality rate at 6 years was 25.5%, with a significant sex difference (males = 37.5%; females = 19.8%) and a significant interaction between sex and sensory impairment. Bivariate logistic regression showed that hearing deficit was associated with a significant increase in mortality risk only in the men. This increase remained significant even after control for the demographic variables and the global physical health status. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the effect of hearing deficit on mortality was mediated by psychosocial parameters (mood and social relationships level). Sensory assessment through simple bedside tests should become part of the routine clinical evaluation of elderly people.