Self-reported hearing and vision impairment and incident frailty in Japanese older people: A 3-year longitudinal analysis of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study

Background: We examined the associations and interactions of hearing impairment (HI) and vision impairment (VI) with frailty. Methods: We performed a 3-year longitudinal analysis of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), a nationwide prospective cohort study of functionally independent Japanese older people (age >= 65 years). Frailty status at baseline and follow-up was defined according to the Kihon Checklist. HI and VI at baseline were self -reported. Logistic regression models were used to examine the main and interaction effects of HI and VI on incident frailty during a 3-year follow-up period.Results: Of the 7,852 participants (mean age 73.2 years, standard deviation 5.6; 50.7% women), 9.7%, 5.3%, and 1.9% reported HI, VI, and concurrent HI and VI, respectively. After adjusting for possible confounders and the other sensory impairment, VI (odds ratio [OR] 2.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.62-3.85, p < 0.001), but not HI (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.97-1.72, p = 0.081), was significantly associated with incident combined pre-frailty and frailty from a robust baseline. No interaction was observed between HI and VI (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.38-1.81, p = 0.636). We observed no significant associations between sensory impairments and incident frailty from a pre-frail baseline (HI: OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.88-1.80, p = 0.205; VI: OR 1.44, 95% CI 0.90-2.31, p = 0.127; interaction between HI and VI: OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.53-2.53, p = 0.718).Conclusions: VI, rather than HI, may be an independent risk factor for frailty, without any interaction between the two.