Bazargan M, Baker R S, Bazargan S H
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, Los Angeles, California 90059, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2001 Sep;56(5):P268-78. doi: 10.1093/geronb/56.5.p268.
The limited number of studies concerning the prevalence of hearing loss and vision impairment and their causes, and the lack of strategies to prevent or treat the deleterious effects of hearing loss and vision impairment, point to a significant gap in the knowledge base concerning aged minority populations. This cross-sectional study evaluated the relationship between vision and hearing impairment and psychological well-being among a sample of 988 elderly African American persons. Fair or poor vision or hearing was reported for 36.5% and 26% of our sample, respectively. Reported prevalence rates for these impairments are considerably higher than rates previously documented in comparable studies of elderly people conducted in general (i.e., predominantly White) populations. Eighty-four percent of our study participants attempted to improve their vision through the use of eyeglasses. By contrast, only 4.3% of individuals in the study who described their hearing as poor reported using hearing aids. Using multivariate analysis and other related variables that have previously been identified as common predictors of psychological well-being, the findings of this study suggest that poor vision is independently associated with a lower level of psychological well-being among aged African Americans even after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, functional limitations, perceived health status, and cognition. Poor hearing was also found to be associated with a lower level of psychological well-being; however, this relationship was not independent but was mediated by the effect of hearing on functional status. These data indicate considerable potential for improved psychological well-being for African American elderly people through visual and audiological rehabilitation.
关于听力损失和视力损害的患病率及其成因的研究数量有限，且缺乏预防或治疗听力损失和视力损害有害影响的策略，这表明在老年少数族裔人群的知识库中存在重大差距。这项横断面研究评估了988名非裔美国老年人样本中视力和听力损害与心理健康之间的关系。我们样本中分别有36.5%和26%的人报告视力或听力为中等或较差。这些损害的报告患病率明显高于此前在一般（即主要为白人）老年人群体的类似研究中记录的患病率。我们研究中的84%参与者试图通过佩戴眼镜改善视力。相比之下，在该研究中，将听力描述为较差的个体中只有4.3%报告使用了助听器。利用多变量分析以及先前被确定为心理健康常见预测因素的其他相关变量，本研究结果表明，即使在调整了社会人口学特征、功能限制、感知健康状况和认知因素后，视力较差仍与非裔美国老年人较低的心理健康水平独立相关。研究还发现听力较差与较低的心理健康水平相关；然而，这种关系并非独立存在，而是由听力对功能状态的影响所介导。这些数据表明，通过视觉和听觉康复改善非裔美国老年人心理健康具有相当大的潜力。
