Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study
Background: Hearing loss (HL) is one major cause of disability and can lead to social impairments. However, the relationship between loneliness and the risk of incident HL remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate this association among adults in the UK. Methods: This cohort study was based on...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Health Data Science |
| Online Access: | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/hds.0281 |
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| author | Yunlong Song Andrew Steptoe Honghao Yang Zheng Ma Lizhi Guo Bin Yu Yang Xia |
| author_facet | Yunlong Song Andrew Steptoe Honghao Yang Zheng Ma Lizhi Guo Bin Yu Yang Xia |
| author_sort | Yunlong Song |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Hearing loss (HL) is one major cause of disability and can lead to social impairments. However, the relationship between loneliness and the risk of incident HL remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate this association among adults in the UK. Methods: This cohort study was based on data from the UK Biobank study. Loneliness was assessed by asking participants if they often felt lonely. Incident HL was defined as a primary diagnosis, ascertained via linkage to electronic health records. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the association between loneliness and risk of incident HL. Results: Our analyses included 490,865 participants [mean (SD) age, 56.5 (8.1) years; 54.4% female], among whom 90,893 (18.5%) reported feeling lonely at baseline. Over a median follow-up period of 12.3 years (interquartile range, 11.3 to 13.1), 11,596 participants were diagnosed with incident HL. Compared to non-lonely participants, lonely individuals exhibited an increased risk of HL [hazard ratio (HR), 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.30 to 1.43]. This association remained (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.17 to 1.31) after adjusting for potential confounders, including age, sex, socioeconomic status, biological and lifestyle factors, social isolation, depression, chronic diseases, use of ototoxic drugs, and genetic risk of HL. The joint analysis showed that loneliness was significantly associated with an increased risk of incident HL across all levels of genetic risks for HL. Conclusions: Loneliness was associated with the risk of incident HL independent of other prominent risk factors. Social enhancement strategies aimed at alleviating loneliness may prove beneficial in HL prevention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d8a3a51252864d8b95f857802f11169f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2765-8783 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Data Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-d8a3a51252864d8b95f857802f11169f2025-08-20T02:13:32ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Health Data Science2765-87832025-01-01510.34133/hds.0281Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank StudyYunlong Song0Andrew Steptoe1Honghao Yang2Zheng Ma3Lizhi Guo4Bin Yu5Yang Xia6Institute of Applied Psychology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.Liaoning Key Laboratory of Precision Medical Research on Major Chronic Disease, Shenyang, China.Liaoning Key Laboratory of Precision Medical Research on Major Chronic Disease, Shenyang, China.Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.Institute of Applied Psychology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.Liaoning Key Laboratory of Precision Medical Research on Major Chronic Disease, Shenyang, China.Background: Hearing loss (HL) is one major cause of disability and can lead to social impairments. However, the relationship between loneliness and the risk of incident HL remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate this association among adults in the UK. Methods: This cohort study was based on data from the UK Biobank study. Loneliness was assessed by asking participants if they often felt lonely. Incident HL was defined as a primary diagnosis, ascertained via linkage to electronic health records. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the association between loneliness and risk of incident HL. Results: Our analyses included 490,865 participants [mean (SD) age, 56.5 (8.1) years; 54.4% female], among whom 90,893 (18.5%) reported feeling lonely at baseline. Over a median follow-up period of 12.3 years (interquartile range, 11.3 to 13.1), 11,596 participants were diagnosed with incident HL. Compared to non-lonely participants, lonely individuals exhibited an increased risk of HL [hazard ratio (HR), 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.30 to 1.43]. This association remained (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.17 to 1.31) after adjusting for potential confounders, including age, sex, socioeconomic status, biological and lifestyle factors, social isolation, depression, chronic diseases, use of ototoxic drugs, and genetic risk of HL. The joint analysis showed that loneliness was significantly associated with an increased risk of incident HL across all levels of genetic risks for HL. Conclusions: Loneliness was associated with the risk of incident HL independent of other prominent risk factors. Social enhancement strategies aimed at alleviating loneliness may prove beneficial in HL prevention.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/hds.0281 |
| spellingShingle | Yunlong Song Andrew Steptoe Honghao Yang Zheng Ma Lizhi Guo Bin Yu Yang Xia Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study Health Data Science |
| title | Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study |
| title_full | Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study |
| title_fullStr | Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study |
| title_short | Loneliness and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss: The UK Biobank Study |
| title_sort | loneliness and risk of incident hearing loss the uk biobank study |
| url | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/hds.0281 |
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