Sensory deficits and longitudinal cognitive and dementia outcomes

 
   Lead Investigator:    Sarah Bauermeister
   Institution      :    University of Oxford
   E-Mail           :    sarah.bauermeister@psych.ox.ac.uk
   Proposal ID      :    1394



   Proposal Description:
   Sensory deficits may precede cognitive decline and the onset of dementia   symptoms by a number of years (e.g., Albers et al., 2015). Moreover, visual   deficits are associated with sub-populations of AD patients and A?? pathology   has been associated with structural and functional disturbances (e.g.,   Frederikse et al., 1998. Furthermore, improvement of vision may augment   selected cognitive functions in patients with AD, suggesting that the wearing   of glasses and visual aids may have a protective effect on longitudinal   cognitive change (Albers et al., 2015). The risk of visual impairment increases   with age along with cognitive impairment, with the proportion of comorbidity   estimated to be 3.5-4 of community dwelling adults (Whitson et al., 2007   20102014). It is therefore acceptable to assume that if an individual presents   with visual impediments, any comorbid cognitive deficits will hinder   rehabilitation (visually). Also, studies have reported an association between   visual loss and cognitive deficits in old age (e.g., Lin et al., 2004) and   cognitive deficits progress quicker in adults with low vision compared to those   with vision intact (e.g., Rogers  Langa, 2010).       Moreover, hearing loss is found to be associated with accelerated cognitive   decline in older adults (Ali et al., 2019). Furthermore, it is also suggested   that hearing aid usage may have a mitigating effect on this trajectory   suggesting an intervention possibility (Maharani et al., 2018). However, the   mechanisms of these associations are still unclear with suggestions that the   impact of sensory loss (hearing) on cognitive decline is through an associative   effect on lifestyle to cognition relationships. Finally, our interest is also   in tactile and olfactory sensory deficits in older age and how these are   associated with later life cognitive decline. It is well established that   olfactory sensory loss is prevalent in AD and PD patients (Albers et al., 2015   a