Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Aging Ment Health. 2022 Jun;26(6):1287-1294. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2021.1919991. Epub 2021 May 12.
Hearing loss (HL) is regarded as a major risk factor for late-life depression. This study aims to further examine the association between HL and suicidal ideation (SI) among middle-aged and older adults using a nationally representative sample.
The study sample comprised 34,142 adults (aged 50+) drawn from the 2015 to 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. SI was measured by response to the question, 'At any time in the past year, did you seriously think about trying to kill yourself?' HL was assessed by asking respondents whether they were deaf or had serious difficulty hearing. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between HL and SI after adjusting for a comprehensive list of covariates.
Compared to those without HL, middle-aged and older adults with HL experienced significant health disparities regarding history of hospitalization, poor perceived health, higher prevalence of chronic diseases, depression, substance use, and SI. HL was positively associated with SI in the past year in both middle-aged ( = 1.59, 95% [1.14, 2.21], < .001) and older adult groups ( = 1.58, 95% [1.07, 2.33], < .001), controlling for depression, substance use, health status, and sociodemographic variables.
Given the high prevalence of hearing loss (HL) in aging populations, this study aimed to expand our knowledge of the relative strength of association between HL and SI. Findings implied that healthcare providers should consider screening for SI in those with HL.
听力损失（HL）被认为是导致晚年抑郁的主要危险因素。本研究旨在使用具有全国代表性的样本，进一步研究中年和老年人 HL 与自杀意念（SI）之间的关系。
研究样本包括 2015 年至 2018 年全国毒品使用和健康调查中抽取的 34142 名 50 岁以上成年人。SI 通过回答“在过去一年中的任何时候，您是否认真考虑过试图自杀？”来衡量。HL 通过询问受访者是否耳聋或有严重听力障碍来评估。在调整了一系列混杂因素后，采用多变量逻辑回归分析来研究 HL 与 SI 之间的关联。
与无 HL 的中年人相比，有 HL 的中年人及老年人在住院史、健康自评差、慢性病患病率高、抑郁、物质使用和 SI 等方面存在显著的健康差异。在过去一年中，HL 与 SI 呈正相关，在中年人群中（ = 1.59，95% [1.14, 2.21]， <.001）和老年人群中（ = 1.58，95% [1.07, 2.33]， <.001），在控制了抑郁、物质使用、健康状况和社会人口学变量后。
鉴于老龄化人口中 HL 的高患病率，本研究旨在扩大我们对 HL 与 SI 之间关联强度的认识。研究结果表明，医疗保健提供者应考虑在有 HL 的人群中筛查 SI。
