Engagement in physical activity represents a protective factor against the negative effect of sensory impairment on mental health, though this protective role is pronounced more in older adults with particular types of sensory impairments than others and with respect to different mental health indicators.
Key Findings
Results
Physical activity was associated with reduction of the negative association between sensory impairment and the risk and severity of depression.
The sample included 68,709 participants aged 50 years and older from Wave 9 of SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe).
Both logistic regression models (risk of depression) and linear regression models (severity of depression) were used.
The protective association of physical activity was evident mainly in respondents with visual and dual sensory impairments.
The moderating effect of physical activity on depression was more pronounced for certain sensory impairment types than others.
Results
Physical activity was associated with reduction of the negative effect sensory impairment had on the severity of loneliness, but not the risk of loneliness.
The distinction between risk (logistic regression) and severity (linear regression) of loneliness revealed differential moderating effects of physical activity.
Physical activity moderated the severity of loneliness associated with sensory impairment but did not significantly moderate the probability of being lonely.
This finding contrasts with the depression results, where physical activity moderated both risk and severity.
The sample of 68,709 participants aged 50 and older was used for these analyses.
Results
The protective role of physical activity against sensory-impairment-related mental health consequences differed by type of sensory impairment.
Visual impairment and dual sensory impairment (combined hearing and visual) showed more pronounced protective associations with physical activity compared to hearing impairment alone.
The differential pattern suggests that the type of sensory impairment moderates the extent to which physical activity is protective.
The study examined sensory impairments categorically, distinguishing between visual, hearing, and dual sensory impairments.
Methods
The study used data from Wave 9 of SHARE with a large, Europe-wide sample of older adults.
The sample comprised 68,709 participants aged 50 years and older.
Data were drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), Wave 9.
Both logistic regression (risk) and linear regression (severity) models were employed to analyze depression and loneliness outcomes.
Physical activity engagement was examined as a moderator of the relationship between sensory impairment and mental health outcomes.
Conclusions
Physical activity engagement was identified as a protective factor against the negative effects of sensory impairment on mental health in older adults.
The findings support previous research on the mental health benefits of physical activity in older populations.
The protective role of physical activity was demonstrated across both depression and loneliness outcomes, though with different patterns.
The moderating role was not uniform across all sensory impairment types or all mental health indicators.
The authors concluded that physical activity 'represents a protective factor against the negative effect of sensory impairment on mental health.'
What This Means
This research used data from nearly 69,000 Europeans aged 50 and older to examine whether being physically active might buffer the harmful effects that sensory problems — such as vision loss, hearing loss, or both — can have on mental health. The study looked at two mental health outcomes: depression and loneliness. Researchers found that older adults with sensory impairments who engaged in physical activity had a reduced likelihood and reduced severity of depression compared to those with sensory impairments who were not physically active. This protective link was especially strong for people with vision problems or both vision and hearing problems combined.
For loneliness, the picture was more nuanced: physical activity was linked to less severe loneliness among those with sensory impairments, but it did not appear to reduce the likelihood of becoming lonely in the first place. This suggests that while staying active may help people cope with loneliness once it occurs, it may not fully prevent the social isolation that can come with sensory loss.
This research suggests that encouraging physical activity among older adults with sensory impairments could be a meaningful strategy for supporting their mental well-being, particularly for reducing depression. However, the benefits appear to vary depending on what type of sensory impairment a person has and which aspect of mental health is being considered, pointing to the need for tailored approaches when designing health programs for this population.
Rosenberg D. (2026). Sensory impairment and mental health in old age: The moderating role of physical activity.. Journal of affective disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2026.122023