Association of Single and Dual Sensory Impairment with Falls among Medicare Beneficiaries.

The purpose of this study was to determine if dual sensory impairment (DSI) is associated with falls and fear of falling among older adults. Using data from the 2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), we studied the cross-sectional association of self-reported hearing/vision impairment with self-reported history/number of falls over the past year, fear of falling (scale 1-6), and a fall requiring medical help using weighted multivariable regressions adjusted for demographic and clinical covariates. Among 11,089 Medicare beneficiaries (mean age = 74, 55% female, 9% Black), DSI is associated with increased prevalence (prevalence ratio = 1.45 [1.28-1.65]) and incidence (incidence ratio = 2.21 [1.79-2.75]) rate of falls, and greater odds of a higher fear of falling score (odds ratio = 1.38 [1.08-1.77]). DSI is associated with falls among older adults. Consideration of DSI as a marker to initiate fall prevention programs and inclusion of sensory interventions in these programs may be valuable.