Summary: In a large Spanish population sample, women reporting vision, hearing, or dual sensory loss were more than twice as likely as men with the same impairments to report depression and anxiety. Sensory loss was categorized as hearing loss, visual problems, or dual sensory loss (both vision and hearing).
Source: Anglia Ruskin University
Women who experience vision, hearing, or combined sensory loss report substantially higher rates of depression and anxiety than men with comparable impairments, according to new research from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).
Published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, the study analyzed data from the Spanish National Health Survey (2017), using self-reported measures from 23,089 adults aged 15 to 103. Participants indicated whether they had experienced depression or chronic anxiety and whether they had vision impairment, hearing impairment, or both (dual sensory impairment). Researchers then examined gender-specific associations between sensory impairments and mental health outcomes.
Overall, women in the sample were between two and 2.56 times more likely than men to report depression and anxiety. The association was strongest for people with dual sensory impairment: women with both vision and hearing loss were about three and a half times more likely to report depression or anxiety compared with women without sensory impairments. Men with dual sensory impairment also showed elevated risk, with roughly a two-and-a-half-fold increase in depression and nearly a twofold increase in anxiety relative to men without impairment.
Lead author Professor Shahina Pardhan, Director of the Vision and Eye Research Institute at ARU, emphasized the importance of addressing sensory loss as part of mental health prevention strategies. She noted that while some vision and hearing impairments are preventable or treatable, even manageable sensory problems can significantly impact mental well-being. The study highlights the need for targeted interventions, especially among women, to reduce the burden of depression and anxiety linked to sensory loss.
Funding: The analysis used publicly available data from the Spanish National Health Survey.
About this depression research news
Source: Anglia Ruskin University
Contact: Jamie Forsyth – Anglia Ruskin University
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Closed access. Title: “Visual, hearing, and dual sensory impairment are associated with higher depression and anxiety in women” by Shahina Pardhan et al., International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Abstract
Visual, hearing, and dual sensory impairment are associated with higher depression and anxiety in women
Objective
This study examined gender-specific, cross-sectional associations between sensory impairments (vision, hearing, and dual impairment) and self-reported depression and chronic anxiety in a nationally representative sample of adults in Spain. The goal was to determine whether the relationship between sensory loss and mental health differs between men and women and to quantify those differences.
Methods
Researchers analyzed responses from 23,089 participants in the Spanish National Health Survey 2017 (ages 15–103; 45.9% men). Participants self-reported diagnoses or episodes of depression and/or chronic anxiety and indicated whether they experienced visual impairment, hearing impairment, or both. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds of depression and anxiety associated with each type of sensory impairment, adjusting for relevant covariates and stratifying analyses by gender to reveal differential effects for men and women.
Results
In the full sample (n = 23,089), women had between two and 2.56 times higher prevalence of depression and anxiety compared with men. Dual sensory impairment was linked to the largest increases in risk: overall odds ratios for dual impairment were 2.98 for depression (95% CI: 2.170–4.091) and 2.636 for anxiety (95% CI: 1.902–3.653) when compared with participants without sensory impairment. When results were stratified by gender, women with dual sensory impairment showed higher odds for both outcomes (OR ≈ 3.49 for depression and OR ≈ 3.48 for anxiety) than men with dual impairment (OR ≈ 2.77 for depression and OR ≈ 1.80 for anxiety).
Conclusions
The findings indicate that dual sensory impairment (combined vision and hearing loss) is associated with significantly increased odds of depression and anxiety, and that these associations are stronger in women than in men among adults in Spain. Given that some causes of sensory loss are preventable or treatable, the study supports prioritizing vision and hearing assessment and interventions as part of mental health prevention and care strategies—particularly for women who may be at greater risk of adverse psychological outcomes linked to sensory decline.