Journal of Alzheimer's Disease · Oct 31, 2025

Racial and ethnic differences in the associations of sensory impairments with cognition in older United States adults

By Arshad F, Pinto JM, Yaffe K et al.

BackgroundSensory impairments are associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease risk.ObjectiveWe studied how sensory function and cognitive change varied by race/ethnicity in Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and non-Hispanic White (NHW) older US adults.MethodsWe studied 2799 individuals, 57-85 years-old, in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project with baseline sensory and follow-up Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) information from 2005-2016. Hearing was interviewer-rated; vision, smell, taste, and touch were objectively measured. Senses were categorized (poor, moderate, normal); number of poor senses (impairment) was summed. Multivariable linear regressions evaluated the association between sensory impairments and cognition, adjusting for demographic and clinical variables. We tested for differences by race/ethnicity using interaction terms.ResultsHispanic (n = 180) and NHB (n = 509) older adults had higher prevalence of ≥1 sensory impairments and lower cognition scores versus NHW respondents (n = 2110). Having multiple impairments significantly interacted with race/ethnicity such that estimates for the association with cognition was significantly lower for NHB versus NHW respondents (beta = -3.08, 95% CI: -5.14, -1.02; p = 0.004). Interactions were borderline significant for smell, where estimated difference in cognition associated with moderate (β=-0.91, 95% CI: -1.91, 0.10, p = 0.077) and poor (β=-1.33, 95% CI: -2.77, 0.11, p = 0.071) smell was lower for NHB versus NHW participants.ConclusionsOur findings suggest racial/ethnic differences in how strongly sensory impairments predict cognition, especially for number of impairments and possibly smell. Further insight may reduce disparities in cognitive aging.

doi.org/10.1177/13872877251387115Open accessPubMed 41171994Populations