The Role of Sensory Impairment in Cognitive Health Appraisal: A Study of Older Korean Americans Living in Subsidized Senior Housing

Objectives: We examined how the association between cognitive performance and cognitive health appraisal would be moderated by vision and/or hearing impairment.

Methods: Data were collected from 315 older Korean-American residents in subsidized senior housing in Los Angeles ( age = 79.4 years). Linear regression models examined the direct and interactive effects of cognitive performance, vision impairment, and hearing impairment on cognitive health appraisal.

Results: Negative appraisal of cognitive health was associated with lower cognitive performance and poorer ratings for vision and hearing. Moreover, we found a significant interaction between cognitive performance and hearing impairment ( = .13, < .05), as well as a three-way interaction among cognitive performance, vision impairment, and hearing impairment ( = .12, < .05).

Discussion: The association between objective and subjective measures of cognition was weakened when hearing was impaired. Such a pattern was further evident when both vision and hearing were impaired.