Effects of Dual Sensory Impairment in Women & Men

Article: Women with sensory loss twice as likely to suffer depression
Source: Anglia Ruskin University (U.K.)
Published: March 26, 2021
Article: Men with sensory loss are more likely to be obese
Source: Anglia Ruskin University (U.K.)
Published: 8 June 2021

Two studies from researchers in the U.K. examined the effects of vision, hearing, and dual sensory impairment or loss in women and men, with attention to gender differences. The survey data in the first study, from a database of 23,089 adults in the Spanish National Health Survey, showed that women were between 2 and 2.5 times as likely as men to report experiencing depression and anxiety. Compared to women without sensory impairment, women with dual sensory impairment were almost 3.5 times more likely to report depression or anxiety. Compared to men with no sensory impairment, men with dual sensory loss were almost 2.8 times more likely to report depression and almost 1.8 times as likely to report anxiety. Finally, as expected, dual sensory loss was associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to single sensory loss. In this study, although both genders report experiencing mental health effects, the association was stronger in women. The lead author of the study comments, "This highlights the importance of interventions to address vision and hearing loss, especially in women. Some sensory loss is preventable or treatable, and clearly these issues are taking their toll not just on physical health, but mental health too."

In a second study, using the same Spanish National Health Survey database, the same lead researcher explored associations between physical inactivity and obesity in women and men with vision, hearing , and dual sensory impairment or loss. They found that in people with vision loss, the likelihood of obesity was about 1.4 times higher than those who did not report vision loss. Furthermore, in people with vision loss, the prevalence of obesity was roughly 1.5 times higher in inactive men than in inactive women. Again, as expected, those with combined hearing and vision impairment were more likely to experience inactivity and obesity compared to those with single sensory impairment. The researchers note that although women were overall less physically active than men, an association between physical inactivity and obesity was found in men but not in women. Similar to interventions for depression and anxiety, they conclude that active steps should be taken to reduce the risk of weight gain in people with sensory impairments.

My rating of these studies:  ⭐⭐⭐

Pardhan S, López Sánchez GF, Bourne R, et al. "Visual, hearing, and dual sensory impairment are associated with higher depression and anxiety in women." International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.  10 March 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5534

Pardhan S, Smith L, Davis A, et al. "Gender differences in the association between physical activity and obesity in adults with vision and hearing losses." European Journal of Public Health.  31(4):835–840. 10 May 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckab077