The association of hearing impairment and chronic diseases with psychosocial health status in older age.
OBJECTIVE
This study examines the association of hearing impairment and chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, lung disease, cardiac disease, stroke, cancer, peripheral artery disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis) with psychosocial status (depression, self-efficacy, mastery, loneliness, social network size) in older persons.


METHODS
The sample consists of 3,107 persons (55 to 85 years) participating in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. MANOVA, adjusted for covariates, was used to test the effect of hearing impairment on the combined outcomes. The association of hearing impairment and chronic diseases with psychosocial status was studied using multivariate regression analyses.


RESULTS
Hearing impaired elderly report significantly more depressive symptoms, lower self-efficacy and mastery, more feelings of loneliness, and a smaller social network than normally hearing peers. Whereas chronic diseases show significant associations with some outcomes, hearing impairment is significantly associated with all psychosocial variables.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings emphasize the negative effect of hearing impairment on quality of life.
Kramer
Sophia E
SE
Vrije University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. se.kramer@vumc.nl
Kapteyn
Theo S
TS
Kuik
Dirk J
DJ
Deeg
Dorly J H
DJ
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D006304:Health Status; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D012961:Sociology