Sensory Difficulty, Social and Physical Activity, and Dementia Risk Among Older Adults

Objectives: Sensory loss is associated with increased dementia risk, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This longitudinal study examined the association between self-reported sensory difficulty (vision, hearing, dual), social and physical activity, and dementia risk among older U.S. adults. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2015-2020 National Health and Aging Trends Study (N = 6,295). Discrete-time survival mediation models with a structural equation modeling-based approach were estimated to examine the associations. Results: Dementia incidence was highest among those with dual sensory difficulty (21.8%), followed by visual (18.8%) and hearing (13.2%) difficulties. Visual difficulty and dual sensory difficulty were associated with decreased social activities and incident dementia in subsequent waves. Social activity, but not physical activity, significantly mediated the visual difficulty-dementia link and the dual sensory difficulty-dementia link. Discussion: Older adults with sensory difficulty were at a higher risk of incident dementia. Future research should investigate other factors underlying the sensory loss-dementia link.