TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - Gender difference in the relationships between vision and hearing impairments and negative well-being
JO  - Preventive medicine
A1  - Iwasawa, Satoko
A1  - Kikuchi, Yuuji
A1  - Michikawa, Takehiro
A1  - Nishiwaki, Yuji
A1  - Takebayashi, Toru
A1  - Harada, Sadako
A1  - Saito, H.
A1  - Ishigami, Ai
A1  - Nakano, Makiko
SP  - 433
EP  - 437
VL  - 47
IS  - 4
N2  - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association of hearing impairment, vision impairment and their combination (dual sensory impairment) with negative well-being such as depression, subjective poor health and the reduced functional ability in community-dwelling older adults, and to determine whether any association varies by gender. METHODS: Between 2005 and 2006, we objectively examined vision and hearing impairment (using best-corrected visual acuity and pure-tone audiometric test) in 843 people aged 65 years and older (351 males, 492 females) in a rural Japanese town. Through a home visit interview survey using a structured questionnaire, we also collected information on depression (the five-item Geriatric Depression Scale), subjective poor health, and reduced functional activity (the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology's Index of Competence). RESULTS: We observed gender differences in the association between sensory impairment and depression. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that hearing impairment in males (adjusted odds ratio: 2.22, 95% confidence interval; 1.07-4.61) and vision impairment in females (1.91, 1.14-3.21) were related to depression. Vision impairment and dual sensory impairment were also associated with subjective poor health and reduced functional activity in both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: Sensory impairment is significantly associated with negative well-being in older persons, and its association with depression may differ between males and females.    <p></p>    <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0091-7435
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.06.011
ID  - ref1
ER  -