Self-Reported Hearing/Visual Loss and Mortality in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Findings From the Komo-Ise Cohort, Japan.
BACKGROUND
The association of sensory loss with mortality remains unclear. We aimed to explore the associations of hearing loss (HL), visual loss (VL), and dual sensory loss (DSL) with survival.


METHODS
Data came from the Komo-Ise study cohort in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, where the community-dwelling residents aged 40-69 years were followed up from 1993 to 2010. We analyzed 9,522 individuals who answered the follow-up questionnaires in 2000 (average age 64 [range, 47 to 77] years in 2000). The primary exposures were "HL only," "VL only," or "DSL", with "no HL/VL" as the reference. These sensory loss statuses were assessed by asking the difficulty in hearing conversation or reading newspaper even with aids in the follow-up questionnaires in 2000. All-cause and cause-specific mortality were ascertained from linkage to death certificate data. Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for confounders, including demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and health status, were used. Potential mediators (depression, walking disability, and social participation) were additionally adjusted for.


RESULTS
There were 1,105 deaths over the 10-year follow-up. After adjustment for the potential confounders, HL and DSL were associated with increased all-cause mortality (hazard ratios of 1.74 [95% CI, 1.18-2.57] and 1.63 [95% CI, 1.09-2.42], respectively). Potential mediators explained a modest portion of the association. As for cause-specific mortality, HL was associated with increased cancer mortality, while VL and DSL were associated with increased cardiovascular disease mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
Self-reported HL and DSL may be risk factors of mortality among middle-aged or elderly Japanese populations.
['Miyawaki|Atsushi|A|http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6126-1464', 'Kobayashi|Yasuki|Y|', 'Kawachi|Ichiro|I|']
D000368:Aged D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D034381:Hearing Loss D006801:Humans D007564:Japan D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009026:Mortality D012307:Risk Factors D057566:Self Report D014786:Vision Disorders
mortality Japan sensory loss mediation analysis survival analysis