Hearing loss, family status and mortality - Findings from the HUNT study, Norway

Hearing loss as well as being single has been associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. The purpose of the study is to assess whether being single or childless moderates the elevated risk of mortality in hearing impaired. The Nord-Trøndelag hearing Loss Study examined 50,462 persons above 20 years of age during 1996-1998. The Norwegian Cause of Death Registry was used to identify deaths until 2016. Data on marital status was obtained from the Norwegian Population Registry. Hearing loss was defined as the pure-tone average (0.5-4 kHz) of hearing thresholds greater than 25 dB hearing level (dB HL) in the better ear. Associations between hearing loss and mortality risk were estimated using Cox regression after an average follow-up of 17.6 years. Hearing loss was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality before 75 years of age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-1.4) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5-2.1) but not with cancer mortality (HR 1.1, 95% CI 0.9-1.3) or mortality due to injuries (HR 1.4, 95% CI 0.9-2.3). Adjusting for socio-economic characteristics, cardiovascular risk-factors, diseases, and family status, reduced the associations for all-cause mortality (HR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.2) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.6). The adjusted mortality risk was found to be significantly related to family status. Being divorced raised the mortality risk associated with hearing loss among those below 75 years of age. There was a similar tendency also for being childless, although this was only significant for females. There was also a trend for a lower mortality related to hearing loss in subjects with a well-hearing partner. More focus should be given to those who lack a family when having functional limitations such as hearing impairment.