Abstract
BackgroundAs 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.PurposeTo 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.MethodsUsing 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).ResultsOf 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).ConclusionAfter 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.
Highlights
Quality of life (QoL) evaluates the general well-being of individuals using a broad multidimensional concept, which includes physical, mental, material, social, and emotional well-being [1]
Subjects with moderate to severe or mild hearing impairment (HI) were older than the 13,802 subjects without HI
Subjects with HI were less likely to have a spouse, more likely to have a lower level of education, and had lower household incomes
Summary
Quality of life (QoL) evaluates the general well-being of individuals using a broad multidimensional concept, which includes physical, mental, material, social, and emotional well-being [1]. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is used to evaluate overall QoL, which has been demonstrated to affect health and usually includes self-reported measures of physical and mental health [2]. HRQoL assessments are important as they identify subgroups with relatively poor perceived health and aid the development of strategic plans, guide interventions, and enable the monitoring and effectivenesses of broad community interventions that avert more serious consequences. 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. 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.
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