SENSORY IMPAIRMENTS AND PHYSICAL-DISABILITY IN AGED WOMEN LIVING AT HOME

Background. Studies of the impact of Visual or hearing impairments on physical disability in older people have provided conflicting results. Furthermore, the consequences of the loss of such visual functions as depth perception or contrast sensitivity have rarely been studied. We examined the relationship of visual acuity, depth perception, contras t sensitivity, and hearing difficulty to the ability of older women li ving at home to accomplish instrumental activities of daily living ind ependently. Methods, Data on self-reported physical disability and hea ring impairment, as well as objective measures of functional vision an d physical ability were collected from a sample of 1210 community-dwel ling women aged 75 years and older, Multivariate logistic regression m odelling was used to assess the strength of the association between ph ysical disability and sensory impairments, controlling for age, educat ion level, motor limitations, and prevalent chronic diseases. Results. Women with low visual acuity or low contrast sensitivity were signifi cantly more likely to be physically dependent than women with good vis ion. Contrast sensitivity was, however, a better predictor than functi onal acuity, after controlling for age, education level, motor limitat ions and chronic medical conditions (adjusted odds ratio: 5.1, 95% con fidence interval: 2.0-12.9), Depth perception was not related to physi cal disability. Women with serious hearing difficulty had significantl y increased odds of dependency (4.1; 1.4-12.1). Conclusions. Severe se nsory impairments are strongly related to physical dependency in older women. It may be useful to add a test of contrast sensitivity to the traditional acuity test to predict better which elderly individuals ma y have difficulty carrying out routine daily activities.