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Abstract
Objectives: To examine the relationship between hearing loss and depression in older adults longitudinally. This paper uses a dimensional approach to conceptualising depression, with the aim of further enhancing understanding of this relationship.
Method: 8344 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and above enrolled in the Three-City prospective cohort study were included. Relationships between baseline self-reported hearing loss (HL) with the trajectory of different dimensions of depression symptoms over 12 years were examined using linear mixed models. Depression dimensions were determined using the four-factor structure of the Centre for Epidemiology Studies-Depression Scale (CESD): depressed affect, positive affect, somatic symptoms and interpersonal problems.
Results: HL was associated with somatic symptoms of depression both at baseline (b = .07, p = .04) and over 12 years (b = .01, p = .04). HL was associated with poorer depressed affect and interpersonal problems at baseline (b = .05, p = .001, b = .35, p < .001; respectively), but not over follow-up. HL was associated with poorer positive affect symptoms over time (b = −.01, p = .01).
Conclusion: HL had varied relationships with different dimensions of depression symptoms, and there were different patterns of adjustment for the dimensions. HL was primarily associated with somatic symptoms, suggesting that shared disease processes might partly underlie the relationship between HL and depression. Targeted assessment and treatment of somatic and positive affect symptoms in older adults with HL might facilitate better wellbeing in this population.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Data availability
Raw data were generated as part of the Three-City study and data can be accessed upon request of the Three-City steering committee. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [SC] upon reasonable request.
Authorlist for Sense-Cog WP1 consortium
Geir Bertelsen – UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway; University Hospital of North Norway, Department of ophthalmology, N-9038 Tromsø, Norway.
Suzanne Cosh – School of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, Australia.
Audrey Cougnard-Grégoire – Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, team LEHA, UMR 1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.
Piers Dawes – University of Manchester, Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Sciences, Manchester, UK.
Cécile Delcourt – Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, team LEHA, UMR 1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.
Fofi Constantinidou – University of Cyprus, Department of Psychology & Center for Applied Neuroscience, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Andre Goedegebure – Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Catherine Helmer – Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, team LEHA, UMR 1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.
M. Arfan Ikram – Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Epidemiology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus Medical Centre, Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Caroline CW Klaver – Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Epidemiology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Ophthalmology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Iracema Leroi – University of Manchester, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester, UK.
Asri Maharani – University of Manchester, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester, UK; University of Manchester, Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK.
Magda Meester-Smor – Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Epidemiology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Ophthalmology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Virginie Nael – Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, team LEHA, UMR 1219, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.
Neelke Oosterloo – Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Neil Pendleton – University of Manchester, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Manchester, UK; University of Manchester, Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK.
Henrik Schirmer – UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Department of Clinical Medicine, Cardiovascular research Group-UNN, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway.
Gindo Tampubolon – University of Manchester, Global Development Institute, Manchester, UK.
Henning Tiemeier – Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Epidemiology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Therese von Hanno – UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway; Nordland Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, N-8092 Bodø, Norway.