Browsing by Author "Gangnon, Ronald E."

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Generational Differences in the Prevalence of Hearing Impairment in Older Adults
(2010-01-15)
Zhan, Weihai
;
Cruickshanks, Karen J.
;
Klein, Barbara E. K.
;
Klein, Ronald
;
Huang, Guan-Hua
There were significant changes in health and lifestyle throughout the 20th century which may have changed temporal patterns of hearing impairment in adults. In this study, the authors aimed to assess the effect of birth cohort on the prevalence of hearing impairment in an adult population aged 45-94 years, using data collected between 1993 and 2008 from 3 cycles of the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (n = 3,753; ages 48-92 years at baseline) and a sample of participants from the Beaver Dam Offspring Study (n = 2,173; ages >= 45 years). Hearing impairment was defined as a pure-tone average of thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz greater than 25-dB HL [hearing level]. Descriptive analysis, generalized additive models, and alternating logistic regression models were used to examine the birth cohort effect. Controlling for age, with every 5-year increase in birth year, the odds of having hearing impairment were 13% lower in men (odds ratio = 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.83, 0.92) and 6% lower in women (odds ratio = 0.94, 95% confidence interval: 0.89, 0.98). These results suggest that 1) older adults may be retaining good hearing longer than previous generations and 2) modifiable factors contribute to hearing impairment in adults.
Modifiable determinants of hearing impairment in adults
(2011-10-01)
Zhan, Weihai
;
Cruickshanks, Karen J.
;
Klein, Barbara E. K.
;
Klein, Ronald
;
Huang, Guan-Hua
Objective. To identify factors contributing to the declining prevalence of hearing impairment in more recent generations. Methods. We used data on hearing thresholds and potential risk factors of hearing impairment collected from studies in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (1993-1995, n=3753; 1998-2000, n = 2800 and 2003-2005, n=2395), the concurrent Beaver Dam Eye Study on the same cohort, and a subgroup (n = 2173) of the Beaver Dam Offspring Study (2005-2008). Results. Educational attainment significantly reduced the odds ratio (OR) of the birth cohort effect on hearing impairment from 0.90 to 0.93, while a history of ear infection had a reverse effect on the decreasing trend (significantly changing the OR from 0.93 to 0.94). Occupational noise exposure, smoking, and a history of cardiovascular disease, while associated with hearing impairment, did not attenuate the cohort effect. The cohort effect remained significant after known risk factors were adjusted (OR = 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.89-0.97). Conclusion. These data provide strong evidence that environmental, lifestyle, or other modifiable factors contribute to the etiology of hearing impairment and add support to the idea that hearing impairment in adults may be prevented or delayed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.