Abstract P260: Association of Hearing Impairment and Physical Functioning Among Chinese Adults Aged 60 Years or Older: Evidence From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

Abstract

Introduction: Hearing impairment is a common treatable condition and a risk factor for various adverse health outcomes. Prior evidence associated hearing impairment with physical functioning declines in older adults of Western countries, but longitudinal evidence on such association is limited among Chinese older adults. Method: We pooled the first three waves of CHARLS (2011, 2013, and 2015) together as a longitudinal dataset with repeated measurements. For each participant, self-reported hearing status was collected at each wave and categorized as normal hearing or impaired hearing (reported fair or poor hearing). Physical functioning was assessed by Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), including gait speed, duration to complete five chair stands and balance test. Each SPPB component was assigned a score from 1 to 4 corresponding from the lowest to highest quartile. The SPPB score ranged from 1 to 12, with higher scores representing better physical functioning. We used a series of linear mixed-effects models with participant-level random intercepts and slopes to assess the association of hearing impairment with physical functioning, adjusting for demographics, socioeconomics, and comorbidities. Results: A total of 8,894 participants aged 60 or above at baseline were included, with a median age of 68 years. At baseline, the impaired hearing group were estimated to be 0.21 (0.11, 0.31) lower in average SPPB score, 0.02 (0.01, 0.03) lower in average gait speed, and 1.04 (1.02, 1.05) times longer in average duration to complete the chair stand test as compared to the normal hearing group ( Table ). Statistically significant differences in average rate of longitudinal changes were not observed for either outcome. Conclusion: Baseline hearing impairment was associated with poorer physical functioning among Chinese older adults, but no significant association with longitudinal changes was observed. This finding emphasizes the necessity of monitoring hearing status among the Chinese elderly population.