Impairments in hearing and vision impact on mortality in older people: the AGES-Reykjavik Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chiu MS ; Cotch MF ; Eiriksdottir G ; Fisher D ; Garcia M ; Gudnason V ; Harris TB ; Hoffman HJ ; Jonasson F ; Jonsson PV ; Launer LJ ; Li C-M ; Petersen H ; Sverrisdottir JE ; Themann, Christa L.
• Description:
  Objective: to examine the relationships between impairments in hearing and vision and mortality from all-causes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among older people. Design: population-based cohort study. Participants: the study population included 4,926 Icelandic individuals, aged >= 67 years, 43.4% male, who completed vision and hearing examinations between 2002 and 2006 in the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study (AGES-RS) and were followed prospectively for mortality through 2009. Methods: participants were classified as having 'moderate or greater' degree of impairment for vision only (VI), hearing only (HI), and both vision and hearing (dual sensory impairment, DSI). Cox proportional hazard regression, with age as the time scale, was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) associated with impairment and mortality due to all-causes and specifically CVD after a median follow-up of 5.3 years. Results: the prevalence of HI, VI and DSI were 25.4, 9.2 and 7.0%, respectively. After adjusting for age, significantly (P < 0.01) increased mortality from all causes, and CVD was observed for HI and DSI, especially among men. After further adjustment for established mortality risk factors, people with HI remained at higher risk for CVD mortality [HR: 1.70 (1.27-2.27)], whereas people with DSI remained at higher risk of all-cause mortality [HR: 1.43 (1.11-1.85)] and CVD mortality [HR: 1.78 (1.18-2.69)]. Mortality rates were significantly higher in men with HI and DSI and were elevated, although not significantly, among women with HI. Conclusions: older men with HI or DSI had a greater risk of dying from any cause and particularly cardiovascular causes within a median 5-year follow-up. Women with hearing impairment had a non-significantly elevated risk. Vision impairment alone was not associated with increased mortality. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Demography Eye Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Men Occupational Health Safety Sense Organs Vision Disorders Women

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• Keywords:
  Age-groups All-cause Mortality Author Keywords: AGES-Reykjavik Study Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-function Cardiovascular-system Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Demographic-characteristics Dual Sensory Impairment Hearing-disorders Hearing-impairment Hearing-loss Humans Older People Vision Vision-disorders Visual-motor-performance

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• ISSN:
  0002-0729
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  69-76
• Volume:
  43
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043578
• Citation:
  Age Ageing 2014 Jan; 43(1):69-76
• Email:
  diana.fisher@nih.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Age and Ageing
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:55a31708bb15f81cedcdec487eb2e082cb6724f606adc25a167cb194ea222a4f4231305185dffe724f2b5474cf2d88c10a18b09b26c45d2e72db8edf965fe120
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195446/cdc_195446_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 206.82 KB ]