title: Health-Related Quality of Life in Korean Adults with Hearing Impairment: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010 to 2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  As the global population ages, disabling hearing impairment (HI) have been increased rapidly. The impact of HI on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is of great importance to aid the development of strategic plans and to guide therapeutic interventions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate HRQoL in Korean adults with different degrees of HI using EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) and EQ-visual analogue scale (VAS), the preference-based generic measures of HRQoL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a representative dataset from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from January 2010 to December 2012, EQ-5D questionnaire and EQ- VAS scores of subjects with HI were compared with those of subjects without HI. Logistic regression analysis, with adjustment for covariates, was used to evaluate the impact of HI on HRQoL scales. HI was defined according to the hearing thresholds of pure-tone averages at 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 kHz of the better hearing ear as follows; mild HI (26 to < 40 dB) and moderate to severe HI (≥ 40 dB).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 16,449 Korean adults in KNHANES (age, 45.0 ± 0.2 years; male, 49.7%), 1757 (weighted prevalence, 7.6%) had mild HI and 890 (3.6%) had moderate to severe HI. Subjects with HI had impaired HRQoL as compared with subjects without HI (EQ-5D, 0.96 ± 0.00 vs. 0.88±0.00 vs. 0.86 ± 0.01 for control vs. mild HI vs. moderate to severe HI, p < 0.001; EQ-VAS, 75.10 ± 0.18 vs. 67.48 ± 0.63 vs. 66.24 ± 0.92 for control vs. mild HI vs. moderate to severe HI, p < 0.001). After adjusting for socio-demographic factors (age, gender, household income, education level, presence of spouse) and health-related behaviors (smoking status, alcohol intake, regular exercise), psychological stress, and the presence of comorbidities (diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, decreased eGFR, and tinnitus), EQ-VAS remained impaired in the moderate to severe HI group (61.72±1.69) as compared with the control group (65.68 ± 1.26, p = 0.004), but EQ-5D impairment disappeared (0.86 ± 0.02 vs.0.88±0.01 for moderate to severe HI vs. control, p = 0.058).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After adjusting for socio-demographic and psychosocial factors and comorbidities, Korean adults with moderate to severe HI rated their health statuses lower than subjects without HI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Min Kwan
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Saing
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ae Jin
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D006983:Hypertrichosis; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011788:Quality of Life; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires