Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Analytic Cohort
| Characteristics | No hearing impairment | Mild hearing impairment | Moderate or greater hearing impairment | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 802 | n = 710 | n = 391 | ||
| Age, mean (SD) | 73.3 (2.7) | 74.0 (2.7) | 74.7 (2.9) | <.001 |
| Gender, n (%) | <.001 | |||
| Male | 315 (39.3) | 348 (49.0) | 257 (65.7) | |
| Female | 487 (60.7) | 362 (51.0) | 134 (34.3) | |
| Race, n (%) | <.001 | |||
| White | 442 (55.1) | 465 (71.7) | 279 (79.3) | |
| Black | 306 (41.9) | 184 (28.4) | 73 (20.7) | |
| Education, n (%) | .012 | |||
| Less than high school | 157 (19.6) | 143 (20.1) | 111 (28.4) | |
| High school graduate | 259 (32.3) | 230(32.4) | 112 (28.6) | |
| Some college | 386 (48.1) | 337 (47.5) | 168 (43.0) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | <.001 | |||
| Never | 406 (50.6) | 328 (46.3) | 149 (38.1) | |
| Former | 333 (41.5) | 338 (47.7) | 206 (52.7) | |
| Current | 63 (7.9) | 42 (5.9) | 36 (9.2) | |
| Study site, n (%) | .002 | |||
| Memphis, TN | 356 (44.4) | 361 (50.9) | 212 (54.2) | |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 446 (55.6) | 349 (49.2) | 179 (45.8) | |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 503 (62.9) | 425 (60.0) | 236 (60.5) | .492 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 119 (14.8) | 119 (16.8) | 73 (18.7) | .222 |
| Stroke history, n (%) | 11 (1.4) | 13 (1.8) | 5 (1.3) | .760 |
| Hearing aid use, n (%) | 6 (0.7) | 63 (8.9) | 175 (44.8) | <.001 |
| Pure tone average, mean (SD) | 18.2 (5.0) | 32.4 (4.3) | 50.4 (9.0) | <.001 |
| Emotional vitality, n (%) | 436 (54.4) | 379 (53.4) | 188 (48.1) | .113 |
Note. Hearing impairment is defined by the speech frequency pure tone average of thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4kHz in the better-hearing ear (no impairment < 25 dB, mild impairment 25–40 dB, and moderate or greater impairment ≥ 40 dB).