Sensory-specific impairment among older people. An investigation using both sensory thresholds and subjective measures across the five senses
Sensory-specific impairment among older people. An investigation using both sensory thresholds and subjective measures across the five senses
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0202969
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发表时间：
2018-08-27
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Croy, Ilona
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cavazzana, Annachiara;Rohrborn, Anja;Croy, Ilona
与年龄相关的感觉障碍是一个缓慢而渐进的过程，影响多种方式。关于与年龄相关的感觉阈值下降存在两种相互矛盾的假设。共同因素理论假设一个潜在因素——它同时解释了几种感觉模式的丧失——而特定因素理论预测不同模式之间的感觉下降是不相关的。在本研究中，我们旨在探讨（i）老年人的感觉阈值是否存在共同因素，（ii）老年人认为一种模式的感觉下降也会影响其他模式，（iii）感觉阈值与感觉功能的主观评估之间存在关系。这是通过收集 104 名老年人（平均年龄：67.2 岁；SD：9.85；范围：50-100 岁）的嗅觉、听觉、味觉、视觉和触觉功能的阈值测量和自我报告评级来完成的。结果表明，感觉阈值不存在共同因素，因此一种模式的损伤并不一定意味着其他模式的缺陷。相比之下，我们的结果表明了参与者评分的一个或两个共同因素。报告某种感觉功能减弱的参与者倾向于将此评级推广到其他感觉。视觉和听觉的主观评分和感觉阈值之间的对应关系相对较好，但其他领域没有观察到相关性。这些发现对临床医生具有重要意义，表明在评估感觉功能障碍时应将主观测量与感觉阈值测量相结合。此外，这些数据还表明，一种感觉方式的丧失并不一定会导致所有感觉方式的丧失，从而向老年人及其医生传达了积极的信息。
Age-related sensory impairment is a slow and gradual progress, which affects multiple modalities. Two contradictory hypotheses exist about the age-related decline of sensory thresholds. The common factor theory assumes one underlying factor-which accounts for the loss of several sensory modalities simultaneously-and the specific factor theory predicts that the sensory decline is uncorrelated between different modalities. In this study, we aimed to explore whether (i) there is a common factor of sensory thresholds in older people, (ii) older people assume that sensory decline in one modality also affects other modalities, (iii) there is a relation between sensory threshold and the subjective assessment of sensory function. This was accomplished by collecting both threshold measures and self-reported ratings for smell, hearing, taste, vision, and touch function in a group of 104 older people (mean age: 67.2 years; SD: 9.85; range: 50-100 years). Results indicated that there was no common factor of sensory thresholds, hence an impairment in one modality did not necessarily imply a shortfall in other modalities. In contrast, our results suggested one or two common factor(s) for the participants' ratings. Participants who reported a diminished function in one sense tended to generalize this rating to the other senses as well. The correspondence between subjective ratings and sensory thresholds was relatively good for vision and audition, although no correlations were observed for the other domains. These findings have implications for clinicians, suggesting that subjective measures should be combined with sensory threshold measurements when evaluating sensory dysfunction. Also, these data convey a positive message for older people and their physicians by showing that loss in one sensory modality does not necessarily generalize to losses across all sensory modalities.