American Geriatrics Society and National Institute on Aging Bench‐to‐Bedside Conference: Sensory Impairment and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

Abstract

This article summarizes the presentations and recommendations of the tenth annual American Geriatrics Society and National Institute on Aging Bench-to-Bedside research conference, “Sensory Impairment and Cognitive Decline,” on October 2–3, 2017, in Bethesda, Maryland. The risk of impairment in hearing, vision, and other senses increases with age, and almost 15% of individuals aged 70 and older have dementia. As the number of older adults increases, sensory and cognitive impairments will affect a growing proportion of the population. To limit its scope, this conference focused on sensory impairments affecting vision and hearing. Comorbid vision, hearing, and cognitive impairments in older adults are more common than would be expected by chance alone, suggesting that some common mechanisms might affect these neurological systems. This workshop explored the mechanisms and consequences of comorbid vision, hearing, and cognitive impairment in older adults; effects of sensory loss on the aging brain; and bench-to-bedside innovations and research opportunities. Presenters and participants identified many research gaps and questions; the top priorities fell into 3 themes: mechanisms, measurement, and interventions. The workshop delineated specific research questions that provide opportunities to improve outcomes in this growing population. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2052–2058, 2018.

Longitudinal study of self‐reported hearing loss and subjective cognitive function decline in women

“…A recent American Geriatrics Society and National Institute on Aging Conference recommended that in future studies "data need to be stratified according to sex." 27 Therefore, we investigated the relation of self-reported hearing loss and incident subsequent SCF decline in an ongoing cohort of 20,193 women in the Nurses' Health Study.…”

Association of Sensory and Cognitive Impairment With Healthcare Utilization and Cost in Older Adults

“…Despite the high prevalence of sensory and cognitive impairments in older adults, there are several key gaps in knowledge about the effects of this combination on outcomes, such as healthcare utilization and cost . This combination may be a potent driver of healthcare utilization and cost due to high rates of functional impairment, increased skilled nursing utilization, and increased risk for steeper cognitive decline .…”

Brain Aging in Midlife: The Beaver Dam Offspring Study

“…(2) Other factor(s) cause both sensory impairments and cognitive impairment. Adapted from reference . Panel B: Associations between sensorineural and cognitive functions due to close neural integration.…”

“…[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Several studies reported associations between sensory impairments and development of cognitive impairment or decline, [11][12][13][14][15] and we previously showed that impairments in hearing, vision, or olfaction are associated with worse cognitive function in middle-aged adults 16 and the development of cognitive impairment in older adults. 17 It was hypothesized that shared etiologic pathways may explain these associations between sensorineural aging changes and cognitive decline ("common cause" hypothesis), whereas others have suggested that sensory loss causes cognitive decline due to sensory deprivation, social isolation, or cognitive overload [18][19][20] (Figure 1A). Alternatively, these associations may reflect the close integration of neural processing in sensory systems and cognition ( Figure 1B).…”