Active urban mobility in adults with hearing loss and their perception of the environment: a multicenter study

This study aimed to estimate the association between hearing loss and active urban mobility (walking and/or bicycling), according to perception of the environment in adults in three Brazilian capital cities. This was a cross-sectional study of 2,350 adults (18-59 years) residing in Brasília (Federal District), Florianópolis (Santa Catarina), and Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul), assessed by the multicenter study Healthy Urban Mobility (MUS) in 2017 and 2018. The outcome variable was active urban mobility (≥ 10 minutes/week), and the principal exposure was self-reported hearing loss. The analyses were stratified by the variable "perception of the environment" - perception of places for walking and bicycling (negative; positive). Logistic regression was used to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Prevalence rates for self-reported hearing loss and active urban mobility were 17% (95%CI: 15.4; 18.4) and 55.4% (95%CI: 53.4; 57.4), respectively. Adults with hearing loss and that perceived the environment negatively for walking and bicycling showed 34% lower odds of active urban mobility ≥ 10 minutes/week (OR = 0.66; 95%CI: 0.45; 0.97). In conclusion, there was an association between hearing loss and active urban mobility in adults in the three capital cities, according to negative perception of the environment. Persons with hearing loss that perceived the neighborhood negatively tend to circulate less by active means.