Hearing impairment and cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Georgia Older Americans Nutrition Program

Abstract

Hearing impairment is the third most common chronic health condition in older adults and is associated with impaired physical, emotional, and social function. Some researchers have suggested that cardiovascular risk factors are related to hearing impairment (Gates et al., 1993; Rosen & Olin, 1965). Therefore, we investigated these possible relationships in 147 older adults at senior centers. More than 70% had hearing impairment, defined as air conduction pure-tone average (1, 2, and 4 kHz) threshold greater than 25 dB hearing level in the worse ear. In a series of logistic regression analyses controlled for age, gender, and race, participants with hearing impairment had non-significant trends for lower mean HDL cholesterol levels (53 mg/dl vs. 61 mg/dl, p=0.08), higher prevalence of HDL cholesterol < 40 mg/dl (20% vs. 11%, p=0.47) and total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio >3.5 (67% vs. 53%, p=0.32), greater ratio of total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (4.1 vs. 3.7, p=0.43), and higher mean triglycerides (182 mg/dl vs. 158 mg/dl, p=0.25). In this sample, CVD risk factors were not generally associated with hearing impairment, perhaps because of the relatively small sample size, the advanced age of the participants, and the severity of their hearing loss. Funding: USDA-NRICGP #2000-01327, HATCH GA-AES #GEO00916.