Du, Y;
Luo, Y;
Ren, Z;
Gram, LZ;
Zheng, X;
Liu, J;
(2024)
What impact does hearing impairment have on cognitive health in older married couples in China?
Social Science and Medicine
, 352
, Article 116999. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116999.
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Abstract
Hearing impairment is a common geriatric health problem and chronic stressor, and it is associated with poor cognitive outcomes. However, little is known about the impact of hearing impairment in married couples, particularly its potential spillover effects on the cognitive health among spouses of individuals with impairment. Drawing on a stress-proliferation perspective, we used actor–partner interdependence models to examine (1) whether an individual's hearing impairment influences their spouse's cognitive function; and (2) whether AL, symptoms of depression, and social participation serve as mediators for such an association. We utilized data from the 2015 (baseline) and 2018 (3-year follow-up) waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. 4434 couples were included at baseline, and 2190 couples remained after the 3-year follow-up. Hearing impairment among married women was associated with negative impacts on their spouses' cognitive function. Symptoms of depression and social participation may have served as potential mediators in this relationship. For married men, there was no statistically significant association between hearing impairment and spouses' cognitive function. Our findings suggest that hearing impairment among one spouse can lead to negative impacts on the other, but that this effect may depend on gender. Early diagnosis and couple-based interventions for hearing impairment are important for the cognitive health of both hearing-impaired individuals and their spouses.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | What impact does hearing impairment have on cognitive health in older married couples in China? |
| Location: | England |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116999 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116999 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Cognitive function, Hearing impairment, Spouses, Stress proliferation |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10194855 |
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