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Hearing impairment and loneliness in older adults in Shandong, China: the modifying effect of living arrangement

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Abstract

Background

Hearing impairment is a highly prevalent condition and potential risk factor of loneliness in older adults. There is little evidence on whether living arrangement modifies the effects of hearing impairment on loneliness in older adults.

Aims

(1) Explore the relationship between hearing impairment and loneliness in old adults; (2) investigate the modifying effect of living arrangement on the association between hearing impairment and loneliness.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of 7070 participants (aged 60–101) in Shandong province of China. Hearing impairment was measured by a single self-reported question. Variables about social demography and physical functioning were assessed using self-administered questionnaires, and loneliness using short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale. Linear regression models were performed to evaluate the association between hearing impairment and loneliness and possible effect modified by living arrangement.

Results

After controlling variables, older adults with hearing impairment reported significantly higher levels of loneliness than those with normal hearing (β = 0.024; P < 0.001). Living arrangement has a significant modifying effect on association between hearing impairment and loneliness.

Conclusions

Our results underscored the potential impact of hearing impairment on loneliness in older adults, and also suggested that having adult children in the same village/community may play a protective role in reducing the loneliness of older adults with hearing impairment.

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Funding

This study was funded by two grants of National Natural Science Foundation of China (71673169 and 71974118) and NHC Key Laboratory of Health Economics and Policy Research (Shandong University) (NHC-HEPR2019015).

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Author notes

  1. Fan Jiang and Jiao Zhang are co-first authors of the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China

    Fan Jiang, Jiao Zhang, Wenzhe Qin, Gan Ding & Lingzhong Xu

  2. NHC Key Laboratory of Health Economics and Policy Research, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China

    Fan Jiang, Jiao Zhang, Wenzhe Qin, Gan Ding & Lingzhong Xu

  3. Center for Health Economics Experiment and Public Policy Research, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, China

    Fan Jiang, Jiao Zhang, Wenzhe Qin, Gan Ding & Lingzhong Xu

Authors
  1. Fan Jiang
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  2. Jiao Zhang
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  3. Wenzhe Qin
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  4. Gan Ding
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  5. Lingzhong Xu
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Contributions

FJ and JZ analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. WQ and GD designed the study and reviewed the paper. LX obtained funding, originated the study, supervised all aspects of its implementation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lingzhong Xu.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

Ethics approval

Ethical approval was obtained from Shandong University Ethical Review Committee (No. 20170110). This study was performed in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Verbal informed consent for the collection and application of information was obtained from all participants.

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Jiang, F., Zhang, J., Qin, W. et al. Hearing impairment and loneliness in older adults in Shandong, China: the modifying effect of living arrangement. Aging Clin Exp Res 33, 1015–1021 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01594-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01594-0

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