Mental Health & Psychosocial
Prevalence of sensory impairments and associations with symptoms of anxiety and depression in US older adults
Publication Type: Peer-reviewed research article — BMC Geriatrics
Publication Date: July 21, 2026
Author(s): Chunsu Zhu, Shengmei Li, Zhiwei Lian (Fujian Medical University / University of Heidelberg)
Source Link: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08019-z
Summary: Using two waves of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative sample of over 5,000 Medicare beneficiaries, this study compared objectively measured vision and hearing impairment against self-reported impairment, then tracked short-term associations with anxiety and depression.
Abstract Summary: Objective testing found vision impairment in nearly a third of participants and hearing impairment in about a fifth — far higher than the 7% and 17% who self-reported those same impairments. Over a roughly 10-month follow-up, objectively measured vision, hearing, and dual sensory impairment all significantly raised the risk of new anxiety symptoms (more than doubling it in some cases), though none showed a significant link to new depressive symptoms in this short window. The authors conclude that self-report substantially undercounts mild-to-moderate impairment and argue for routine objective sensory screening in both clinical practice and research.
Why It Matters: This is a nationally representative US sample, so the core finding transfers directly to Kansas practice: intake and care-planning processes that rely on residents or clients self-reporting vision and hearing trouble are very likely missing real impairment — and missing it in exactly the population most likely to develop new anxiety symptoms as a result.
Caring while aging: a cross-sectional study in Lebanon on caregiver burden, mental health, and the moderating effects of social and financial resources
Publication Type: Peer-reviewed research article — BMC Geriatrics
Publication Date: July 22, 2026
Author(s): Monique Chaaya, Sawsan Abdulrahim, Aya El Sammak, et al. (American University of Beirut; Georgetown University)
Source Link: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-026-08017-1
Summary: Drawing on baseline data from a community-based cohort of older adults in Lebanon, this study examined how caregiver burden relates to depression and anxiety among older adults who are themselves caregiving for a spouse or relative, and whether social or financial support buffers that relationship.
Abstract Summary: Among 434 older adult caregivers (average age 69, one-third caring for a spouse), those reporting high caregiver burden had meaningfully higher depression and anxiety scores than those with low burden. Emotional support meaningfully softened the link between burden and depression, but financial resources did not moderate the mental health impact at all — suggesting money alone doesn’t protect caregivers from burden’s psychological toll. The authors note Lebanon’s caregiving is almost entirely family-based given limited formal long-term care infrastructure, and call for context-specific caregiver support policy.
Why It Matters: Lebanon’s near-total reliance on family caregiving and thin formal LTSS system is a meaningfully different context from Kansas, so figures shouldn’t be imported directly — but the core mechanism (emotional support buffering caregiver depression more reliably than financial support) is a transferable design principle for any Kansas caregiver-support programming, particularly in rural areas where formal respite capacity is often just as thin.
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