• Rikke Syrak Hansen, Lasse Lybecker Scheel-Hincke, Bernard Jeune, and Linda Juel Ahrenfeldt.
• Unit for Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, J. B. Winsløws Vej 9B, 5000, Odense C, Denmark.
• Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 2024 Jan 1; 136 (1-2): 556355-63.

AimAlthough sensory impairments are common conditions among older people, research often fails to consider the role of sex. We examined sex differences in vision impairment and hearing impairment across age and European regions.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study based on a pooled sample of 65,656 females and 54,881 males aged 50 years and older participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) from 2004-2020. Logistic regression models with robust standard errors providing odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to examine associations.ResultsEuropean females had generally higher odds of vision impairment (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.12-1.21) but lower odds of hearing impairment than European males (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.67-0.73). The female disadvantage in vision increased with advancing age, whereas the female advantage in hearing decreased. No overall sex difference in vision was found in northern Europe, but females had more vision impairments than males in southern (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.14-1.32), western (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.08-1.21) and eastern (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.20) Europe. Females were healthier than males in terms of hearing in all regions, with the largest female advantage in northern Europe (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.64).ConclusionOur findings demonstrate an overall consistent pattern of sex differences in sensory impairments across Europe showing an increasing female disadvantage in vision and a decreasing female advantage in hearing with advancing age.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.

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