Preventive Medicine Reports · Oct 10, 2026

Association between dual sensory impairments and new-onset cardiovascular disease among American middle-aged and older adults: the mediating role of depression

By Lou Z, Chen X, Wu X et al.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between dual sensory impairment (DSI) and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), and to evaluate the potential mediating role of depression in this relationship. METHODS: The data were sourced from 2017/2018 (Wave 14) to 2021/2022 (Wave 16) of the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study (HRS) of the American aged 50 and above. A counterfactual-based causal mediation framework was employed to evaluate the mediating role of continuous depression scores in the association between DSI and new-onset CVD. RESULTS: A total of 7582 participants were included, the incidence density of CVD is 23.67/1000 person-years. Compared with the people without VI (vision impairment) and HI (hearing impairment), those with DSI were associated with a significantly higher risk of CVD (HR: 1.52, 95%CI: 1.25, 1.85). Specifically, DSI was associated with a higher risk of cardiac events (HR: 1.41, 95%CI: 1.14, 1.75) and stroke (HR: 2.25, 95%CI: 1.50, 3.36). Notably, depression mediated 25.33% of the association between DSI and new-onset CVD. Mediation effects for cardiac events and stroke were 27.04% and 17.39%, respectively. CONCLUSION: DSI was associated with a higher risk of CVD among middle-aged and older adults. The association was partially mediated by depression.

doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2026.103659Open accessPubMed 42904116Populations