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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Aging and Public Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1542789

This article is part of the Research Topic The Open Challenges of Cognitive Frailty: Risk Factors, Neuropsychological Profiles and Psychometric Assessment for Healthy Aging View all 17 articles

Impact of dual sensory impairment on cognition in older Chinese adults: a moderated chain-mediated effect

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
  • 2 Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou Province, China
  • 3 Guiyang Nursing Vocational College, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective Although sensory impairment has been identified as a risk factor for cognitive decline, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that connect dual sensory impairment to cognitive ability. This research used a moderated chainmediated model to investigate the underlying mechanisms behind the association between dual sensory impairment and cognitive ability. Methods People aged 60 years and older from seven medical institutions, three communities, and five nursing homes in Zunyi city, Guizhou Province, were selected for the study from October 2022 to September 2023 via convenience sampling. Data on demographic characteristics, self-reported hearing and vision loss, and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GAD-15), Frailty Scale (FRAIL) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were collected. A moderated chain mediator was used to analyze the underlying mechanisms and pathways of the relationships among anxiety, depression, and cognitive ability in individuals with dual sensory impairment, as well as the moderating role of frailty in this connection.Results A total of 7021 older adults were included, 3598 (51.25%) of whom were male, with a mean age of 72.01 ± 7.17 years. Dual sensory impairment had a significant direct effect on cognitive ability, with an effect size of -3.134, followed by anxiety and depression, which not only independently mediated the relationship between dual sensory impairment and cognitive ability but also jointly had a chain mediation effect, with mediation effect sizes of -0.766 and -0.182, respectively, and a chain mediation effect size of -0.257. In addition, the interaction effect of dual sensory impairment and frailty was significantly predictive of cognitive ability (effect value = -0.575, p<0.001). Conclusion The mechanisms of action between dual sensory impairment, anxiety, depression, cognitive performance, and frailty are shown in this study. This finding also implies that therapies for psychological issues, frailty, and sensory functioning in older adults can preserve their cognitive ability.

    Keywords: dual sensory impairment, cognitive ability, Anxiety, Depression, Frailty

    Received: 10 Dec 2024; Accepted: 24 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Mao, Liang, Yuan, Jiang, Hu, Zhang, Li and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiaoli Yuan, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, Guizhou Province, China
    Zhixia Jiang, Guiyang Nursing Vocational College, Guiyang, 550001, Guizhou Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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