Geriatric syndrome: Slightly reduced visual and hearing impairments reduce activities daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QOL) in the community-dwelling elderly

Although it is well-known that moderate and severe visual and/or hearing impairments in elderly persons reduce their activities of daily living (ADL) and their quality of life (QOL), most elderly people, their caregivers and even nurses/doctors do not care about those disturbances considering them as normal aging. We studied 1,874 community-dwelling elderly (813 men, 1,061 women, mean age; 76+/-9 yrs.) and demonstrated that apparently healthy older persons with slightly reduced function clarified by self-reported questionnaires do not only have lower scores of ADL and VAS (QOL), but also higher score of GDS 15, that is, they have a more depressive state, compared to those without visual and/or hearing impairments. Therefore, because visual and/or hearing functional impairments in the elderly, even if slight, affect their ADL impairments, QOL and mood, we should assess whether the older persons have visual/hearing disturbance(s) in functional screening and should give them some kinds of assistance to succeed in achieving on enjoyable elderly life.