Association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in China

Abstract Background Few studies have examined the association between visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality, with inconsistent findings. Moreover, previous researches often categorized impairments in a simplistic manner without considering severity levels. This study aimed to inves...

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Main Authors: Linxia Zhou, Haiping Huang, Qin Wang, Linlu Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Geriatrics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-025-06205-z
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author Linxia Zhou
Haiping Huang
Qin Wang
Linlu Peng
author_facet Linxia Zhou
Haiping Huang
Qin Wang
Linlu Peng
author_sort Linxia Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Few studies have examined the association between visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality, with inconsistent findings. Moreover, previous researches often categorized impairments in a simplistic manner without considering severity levels. This study aimed to investigate the association between visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality among older adults, focusing on impairment severity, using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Methods A total of 31,701 older participants were included (median age: 90.0 [IQR: 81.0, 99.0], men: 41.1%). Different levels of visual and hearing impairments were scored and then aggregated and divided into four groups. Cox regression analysis examined the association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality. Results During a median follow-up period of 3.1 years, a total of 22,555 deaths (71.1%) were recorded. Overall, mortality risk increased significantly with the severity of visual and hearing impairments after adjusting for confounders. Compared to score = 0 group, adjusted HRs for mortality were 1.15 (95% CI: 1.11–1.19, p < 0.001) for score = 1 group, 1.26 (95% CI: 1.21–1.31, p < 0.001) for score = 2 group, and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.40–1.54, p < 0.001) for score ≥ 3 group, respectively. Stratified and sensitivity analysis revealed consistent results. Additionally, the population attributable fraction for visual and hearing impairments with mortality was 10.8%. Conclusions Among older people, all-cause mortality risk significantly increased with the severity of visual and hearing impairments, and the visual and hearing impairments accounted for 10.8% of total deaths. These findings emphasize the importance of vigilant monitoring and management of visual and hearing impairments.
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spelling doaj-art-8ceadbe328a14f85a9de262bf23ccd362025-08-20T03:46:16ZengBMCBMC Geriatrics1471-23182025-07-0125111010.1186/s12877-025-06205-zAssociation of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in ChinaLinxia Zhou0Haiping Huang1Qin Wang2Linlu Peng3Department of Cardiology, ChengduShuangliu Hospital of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Cardiology, ChengduShuangliu Hospital of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Cardiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan UniversityDepartment of Cardiology, State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical UniversityAbstract Background Few studies have examined the association between visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality, with inconsistent findings. Moreover, previous researches often categorized impairments in a simplistic manner without considering severity levels. This study aimed to investigate the association between visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality among older adults, focusing on impairment severity, using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Methods A total of 31,701 older participants were included (median age: 90.0 [IQR: 81.0, 99.0], men: 41.1%). Different levels of visual and hearing impairments were scored and then aggregated and divided into four groups. Cox regression analysis examined the association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality. Results During a median follow-up period of 3.1 years, a total of 22,555 deaths (71.1%) were recorded. Overall, mortality risk increased significantly with the severity of visual and hearing impairments after adjusting for confounders. Compared to score = 0 group, adjusted HRs for mortality were 1.15 (95% CI: 1.11–1.19, p < 0.001) for score = 1 group, 1.26 (95% CI: 1.21–1.31, p < 0.001) for score = 2 group, and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.40–1.54, p < 0.001) for score ≥ 3 group, respectively. Stratified and sensitivity analysis revealed consistent results. Additionally, the population attributable fraction for visual and hearing impairments with mortality was 10.8%. Conclusions Among older people, all-cause mortality risk significantly increased with the severity of visual and hearing impairments, and the visual and hearing impairments accounted for 10.8% of total deaths. These findings emphasize the importance of vigilant monitoring and management of visual and hearing impairments.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-025-06205-zAll-cause mortalityHearing impairmentOlder adultsVisual impairment
spellingShingle Linxia Zhou
Haiping Huang
Qin Wang
Linlu Peng
Association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in China
BMC Geriatrics
All-cause mortality
Hearing impairment
Older adults
Visual impairment
title Association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in China
title_full Association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in China
title_fullStr Association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in China
title_full_unstemmed Association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in China
title_short Association of visual and hearing impairments with all-cause mortality in older adults in China
title_sort association of visual and hearing impairments with all cause mortality in older adults in china
topic All-cause mortality
Hearing impairment
Older adults
Visual impairment
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-025-06205-z
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