Open AccessTriple Difficulties in Japanese Women with Hearing Loss: Marriage, Smoking, and Mental Health Issues
Author(s) -
Yôko Kobayashi,
Nanako Tamiya,
Yohsuke Moriyama,
Akihiro Nishi
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0116648
Subject(s) - hearing loss , mental health , marital status , medicine , distress , cross sectional study , demography , public health , socioeconomic status , psychological distress , social support , psychology , gerontology , audiology , psychiatry , population , clinical psychology , environmental health , social psychology , sociology , nursing , pathology
Objective To examine the consequences of early-onset hearing loss on several social and health measures and any related gender differences in Japanese populations. Methods Data from a 2007 nationally representative cross-sectional household survey of 136,849 men and women aged 20 to 39 years were obtained (prevalence of self-reported hearing loss: 0.74%). We focused particularly on four social and health measures: employment status (employed/unemployed), marital status (married/unmarried), smoking behavior (yes/no), and psychological distress (K6 instrument: ≥ 5 or not). We examined the association of hearing loss for each measure using generalized estimating equations to account for correlated individuals within households. Findings There was no significant association with employment status ( p = 0.447). Men with hearing loss were more likely to be married, whereas women with hearing loss were less likely to be married ( p < 0.001 for interaction). Although hearing loss was not associated with a current smoking status in men, women with hearing loss were more likely to be current smokers ( p < 0.001 for interaction). Moreover, hearing loss was associated with psychological distress in men and women (both p < 0.001). Conclusion These findings suggest that hearing loss is related to social and health issues in daily life, including a lower likelihood of marriage, more frequent smoking, and poorer mental health, especially in women. These issues may reflect a gap between the actual needs of women with hearing loss and the formal support received as a result of existing public health policies in Japan.