Association Between Hearing Impairment and Risk of Hospitalization in Older Adults

Dane J Genther; Joshua Betz; Sheila Pratt; Kathryn R Martin; Tamara B Harris; Suzanne Satterfield; Douglas C Bauer; Anne B Newman; Eleanor M Simonsick; Frank R Lin; Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

doi:10.1111/jgs.13456

Association Between Hearing Impairment and Risk of Hospitalization in Older Adults

J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015 Jun;63(6):1146-52. doi: 10.1111/jgs.13456. Epub 2015 Jun 11.

Authors

Dane J Genther^{1

2}, Joshua Betz^{2

3}, Sheila Pratt^{4

5}, Kathryn R Martin^{6

7}, Tamara B Harris⁶, Suzanne Satterfield⁸, Douglas C Bauer⁹, Anne B Newman^{10

11}, Eleanor M Simonsick^{12

13}, Frank R Lin^{1

2

12

14

15}; Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
² Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
³ Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁴ Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
⁵ Department of Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
⁶ Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland.
⁷ Epidemiology Group, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
⁸ Department of Preventive Medicine, Health Science Center, University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee.
⁹ Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
¹⁰ Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
¹¹ Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
¹² Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
¹³ Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland.
¹⁴ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
¹⁵ Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the association between hearing impairment (HI) and risk and duration of hospitalization in community-dwelling older adults in the United States.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.

Participants: Well-functioning community-dwelling white and black Medicare beneficiaries aged 70 to 79 at study enrollment in 1997-98 were followed for a median of 12 years.

Measurements: Incidence, annual rate, and duration of hospitalization were the primary outcomes. Hearing was defined as the pure-tone average (PTA) of hearing thresholds in decibels re: hearing level (dB HL) at octave frequencies from 0.5 to 4.0 kHz. Mild HI was defined as a PTA from 25 to 40 dB HL, and moderate or greater HI was defined as a PTA greater than 40 dB HL.

Results: Of the 2,148 participants included in the analysis, 1,801 (83.5%) experienced one or more hospitalizations, with 7,007 adjudicated hospitalization events occurring during the study period. Eight hundred eighty-two (41.1%) participants had normal hearing, 818 (38.1%) had mild HI, and 448 (20.9%) had moderate or greater HI. After adjusting for demographic characteristics and cardiovascular comorbidities, persons with mild HI experienced a 16% (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-1.29) greater risk of incident hospitalization and a 17% (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.04-1.32) greater annual rate of hospitalization, and those with moderate or greater HI experienced a 21% (HR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.06-1.38) greater risk of incident hospitalization and a 19% (IRR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.04-1.38) greater annual rate of hospitalization than persons with normal hearing. There was no significant association between HI and mean duration of hospitalization.

Conclusion: Hearing-impaired older adults experience a greater incidence and annual rate of hospitalization than those with normal hearing. Investigating whether rehabilitative therapies could affect the risk of hospitalization in older adults requires further study.

Keywords: epidemiology; hearing impairment; hospitalization; older adults.

Publication types

Observational Study
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Confidence Intervals
Disability Evaluation
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Geriatric Assessment / statistics & numerical data*
Health Status*
Hearing Loss / diagnosis*
Hearing Loss / epidemiology*
Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Incidence
Male
Odds Ratio
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors
United States / epidemiology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding