Table 1.
Baseline characteristics and the significance of differences between the treatment and control groups among hearing-impaired middle-aged and older adults
| Characteristics | Total sample (n = 385) | Treatment group (n = 150) | Control group (n = 235) | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 68.50 (0.53) | 68.22 (0.94) | 68.68 (0.62) | 0.670 | |||
| Sex, N (%) | 0.746 | ||||||
| Male | 271 | 70.39 | 107 | 71.33 | 164 | 69.79 | |
| Female | 114 | 29.61 | 43 | 28.67 | 71 | 30.21 | |
| Hukou types, N (%) | 0.167 | ||||||
| Rural | 360 | 93.51 | 137 | 91.33 | 223 | 94.89 | |
| Urban | 25 | 6.49 | 13 | 8.67 | 12 | 5.11 | |
| Education, N (%) | 0.173 | ||||||
| Illiterate | 179 | 46.49 | 65 | 43.33 | 114 | 48.51 | |
| Primary school | 130 | 33.77 | 59 | 39.34 | 71 | 30.21 | |
| Middle school or above | 76 | 19.74 | 26 | 17.33 | 50 | 21.28 | |
| Marital status, N (%) | 0.010 | ||||||
| Alone | 89 | 23.12 | 45 | 30.00 | 44 | 18.72 | |
| Married/partnered | 296 | 76.88 | 105 | 70.00 | 191 | 81.28 | |
| Work types, N (%) | 0.518 | ||||||
| Non-agriculture | 24 | 6.23 | 11 | 7.33 | 13 | 5.53 | |
| Agriculture | 190 | 49.35 | 69 | 46.00 | 121 | 51.49 | |
| Unemployed | 171 | 44.42 | 70 | 46.67 | 101 | 42.98 | |
| Life sources, N (%) | 0.129 | ||||||
| Only on one’s own | 54 | 14.03 | 16 | 10.67 | 38 | 16.17 | |
| Have support from others | 331 | 85.97 | 134 | 89.33 | 197 | 83.83 | |
| Health insurance, N (%) | 0.125 | ||||||
| No | 15 | 3.90 | 3 | 2.00 | 12 | 5.11 | |
| Yes | 370 | 96.10 | 147 | 98.00 | 223 | 94.89 | |
| Pure-tone average, N (%) | 0.990 | ||||||
| Moderate (40 dB < PTA ≤ 60 dB) | 114 | 29.61 | 45 | 30.00 | 69 | 29.36 | |
| Severe (60 dB < PTA ≤ 80 dB) | 144 | 37.40 | 56 | 37.33 | 88 | 37.45 | |
| Profound (PTA > 80 dB) | 127 | 32.99 | 49 | 32.67 | 78 | 33.19 | |
| Smoking status, N (%) | 0.381 | ||||||
| Smoke now | 123 | 31.95 | 43 | 28.67 | 80 | 34.04 | |
| Ever smoke | 64 | 16.62 | 29 | 19.33 | 35 | 14.90 | |
| Never smoke | 198 | 51.43 | 78 | 52.00 | 120 | 51.06 | |
| Drinking status, N (%) | 0.819 | ||||||
| Drink now | 112 | 29.09 | 43 | 28.67 | 69 | 29.36 | |
| Ever drink | 71 | 18.44 | 30 | 20.00 | 41 | 17.45 | |
| Never drink | 202 | 52.47 | 77 | 51.33 | 125 | 53.19 | |
| Social activities, N (%) | 0.993 | ||||||
| No | 100 | 25.97 | 39 | 26.00 | 61 | 25.96 | |
| At least one | 285 | 74.03 | 111 | 74.00 | 174 | 74.04 | |
| Social network, N (%) | 0.577 | ||||||
| Restricted | 101 | 26.23 | 37 | 24.67 | 64 | 27.23 | |
| Active | 284 | 73.77 | 113 | 75.33 | 171 | 72.77 | |
| Primary outcomes | |||||||
| HHIE-S, mean (SD) | 31.65 | 0.39 | 33.49 | 0.45 | 30.47 | 0.56 | < 0.001 |
| HHIE-S-Emotional, mean (SD) | 14.01 | 0.24 | 15.00 | 0.30 | 13.37 | 0.34 | 0.001 |
| HHIE-S-Situational, mean (SD) | 17.64 | 0.20 | 18.49 | 0.22 | 17.10 | 0.29 | < 0.001 |
| SF-12-Physical, mean (SD) | 40.75 | 0.43 | 40.68 | 0.70 | 40.80 | 0.54 | 0.887 |
| SF-12-Mental, mean (SD) | 40.01 | 0.49 | 40.99 | 0.80 | 39.39 | 0.62 | 0.112 |
| EQ-5D-5L, mean (SD) | 0.76 | 0.01 | 0.75 | 0.02 | 0.77 | 0.01 | 0.611 |
| Secondary outcomes | |||||||
| Chronic diseases, N (%) | 0.114 | ||||||
| No | 101 | 26.23 | 46 | 30.67 | 55 | 23.40 | |
| Yes | 284 | 73.77 | 104 | 69.33 | 180 | 76.60 | |
| ADLs, N (%) | 0.315 | ||||||
| Unimpaired | 295 | 76.62 | 119 | 79.33 | 176 | 74.89 | |
| Impaired | 90 | 23.38 | 31 | 20.67 | 59 | 25.11 | |
| IADLs, N (%) | 0.076 | ||||||
| Unimpaired | 123 | 31.95 | 40 | 26.67 | 83 | 35.32 | |
| Impaired | 262 | 68.05 | 110 | 73.33 | 152 | 64.68 | |
| Depressive symptoms, N (%) | 0.453 | ||||||
| No | 245 | 63.64 | 92 | 61.33 | 153 | 65.11 | |
| Yes | 140 | 36.36 | 58 | 38.67 | 82 | 34.89 | |
| Cognition scores measured by MMSE, mean (SD) | 16.93 | 0.45 | 17.07 | 0.75 | 16.83 | 0.56 | 0.796 |