ArticleInternational journal of geriatric psychiatry2024
Depression, loneliness, and lower social activity as partial mediators of the association between visual impairment and cognitive decline.
Article in International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Sleep traits and physical activity mediate the causal association between depression and age-related diseases.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Assessing the Mediating Roles of Global Sensory Impairment, Social Isolation, and Loneliness in the Association Between Education and Cognitive Function.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2026Article
- Determinants of Spousal Loneliness Among Caregivers for Patients with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- Association of social isolation and loneliness with the incidence and life expectancy of chronic kidney disease: a population-based cohort study.International journal of surgery (London, England) · 2026Article
- Vision impairment and cognitive function in Chinese older adults with diabetes: multiple mediating effects of social participation and perceived control.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Relationship Between Visual Acuity and Cognitive Functions in Older Adults With Visual Impairment: The Mediating Role of Frailty.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Longitudinal patterns of cognitive function and depression: insights from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.Journal of global health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
objectivesSensory impairment is a hypothesized risk factor for cognitive decline; however, the psychosocial pathways are not well understood. We evaluated whether the association between visual impairment (VI) and cognitive decline was partially mediated via depressive symptoms, loneliness, or social activity.
methodsWe used data from 2601 older adults enrolled in the Memory and Aging Project in 1997 and the Minority Aging Research Study in 2004 with neuropsychological tests across five domains measured annually for up to 16 years. VI was assessed with the Rosenbaum Pocket Vision Screener. Depressive symptoms, loneliness, and social activity were self-reported using validated scales. We used structural equation models to estimate the associations of VI with baseline and change in cognitive function, directly and indirectly through each mediator (depressive symptoms, loneliness, and social activity). We evaluated mediation via "psychological distress" using a latent variable combining depressive symptoms and loneliness.
resultsThe association between VI and global cognitive decline was mediated via lower social activity (indirect effect) [95% confidence interval (CI)] of linear slope: -0.025 (-0.048, -0.011), via loneliness (-0.011 [95% CI: -0.028, -0.002]), and via psychological distress (-0.017 [95% CI: -0.042, -0.003]). We did not find sufficient evidence for mediation via depressive symptoms alone.
conclusionsThe harmful effect of VI on cognitive decline may be partially mediated through loneliness and lower social activity.
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