Sensory loss linked to greater risk of death 

A natural decline of the five classical senses – vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch – can predict a number of poor health outcomes, including greater risk of death, says a study.

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Researchers:

• We can now predict how changes in our senses can influence activities we think are really important, like walking, moving, and living.
• The study spanning five years and including more than 3,000 US adults aged 57-85 began with an assessment of how sensory dysfunction affected their physical and cognitive abilities.
• The research team found that adults with worse sensory dysfunction moved slower and had greater difficulty performing daily activities.
• Five years later, the same people had more sensory impairment.
• They moved even slower, were less active, and had more physical and cognitive disabilities.

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• Compared to those with less sensory impairment, they had a higher risk of dying.
• This is the first study to show that decreased sensory function of all five senses can be a significant predictor of major health outcomes.
• In the study, the researchers used validated tools and controlled for factors.
• That could affect the results such as demographics, education level, drug and alcohol use, and weight.
• The researchers also teased apart any sensory loss that was due to environmental factors.
• Such as exposure to loud noises that cause poor hearing.
• This allowed them to measure sensory impairment as a function of ageing alone.
• Sensory impairment can add insight into the mechanisms that drive health outcomes associated with ageing.
• There appears to be one or more specific physiological processes of aging – so far unidentified – that account for how the five senses decline together.