sensory impairment and health-related quality of life

background : sensory impairment is a common condition that exerts negative effects on health-related quality of life (hrqol) in the elderly. this study aimed to determine the relationship between sensory impairment and hrqol and identify sensory-specific differences in the hrqol of elderly. methods : this study used data from the korean national health and nutrition examination survey v (2010-2012), analyzing 5,260 subjects over 60 years of age who completed ophthalmic and otologic examinations. vision and hear-ing impairment were measured and classified. hrqol was determined according to the european qol five dimen-sion test (eq-5d). multivariate logistic regression analysis and analysis of covariance were performed to identify rela-tionships between sensory impairment and hrqol dimensions as well as differences in hrqol scores. results : in the final adjusted multivariate model, there was a statistically higher proportion of those with dual sensory impairment who reported problems with mobility (adjusted odds ratio [aor] 2.30, 95% confidence interval [ci] 1.45–5.03), usual activities (aor 2.32, 95% ci 1.16–4.64), and pain/discomfort among eq-5d subcategories (aor 1.79, 95% ci 1.07–2.97). in the eq-5d dimensions, the means and standard deviations of vision impairment (0.86 [0.01]) and dual sensory impairment (0.84 [0.02]) appeared meaningfully lower than those for no sensory impairment (0.88 [0.00]) or hearing impairment (0.88 [0.01]); p = .02). conclusion : sensory impairment reduces hrqol in the elderly. improvement of hrqol in the elderly thus requires regular screening and appropriate management of sensory impairment.