Associação entre restrição à participação auditiva e autopercepção de saúde, suporte social e qualidade de vida da pessoa idosa: estudo transversal

Abstract

Introduction: In relation to healthy ageing, auditory conditions are determinant for the intrinsic capacity which, in conjunction with the interactions of the individual with his environment, will determine his functional capacity. Age-Related Hearing Loss is considered one of the most prevalent problems of the elderly population and can improve in consequences such as restriction to participation with socio-emotional impacts once it compromises communication and consequently can impact on the quality of life of the elderly person, self-perception of health and the social support network. Purpose: Verify the association between restriction to auditory participation and self-perception of health, social support and quality of life in elderly people. Method: Study with a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive with a quantitative approach to the data. A database was used with information collected in 2017 and 2018 from the residencies, it was included in the study 235 people registered in the Family Health Strategy unities, inside of the healthcare system, with characteristics of social vulnerability, from a medium-sized municipality in Brazil. It was used information about the sociodemographic aspects (gender, age, years of schooling, financial income and marital status), health conditions (presence of self-reported comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, history of previous stroke) and the results of questionnaires that investigates restriction to participation related to hearing loss (Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly Screening Version - HHIE-S), Social Support (MOS - Social Support Scale), Subjective Health Assessment and the Quality of Life (Short-Form 6 dimensions - SF-6D). The groups with and without restriction to auditory participation were compared according to sociodemographic, health, social support and quality of life variables. A multivariate binary logistic regression method was used to assess the associations between independent variables and restriction to auditory participation. Results: The group with restriction participation is older (p<0.008), has a lower quality of life (p<0.041) and worse self-perception of health (p<0.002). The last variable proved to be the only predictor of a restriction to auditory participation (OR=0.85; 95% CI=0.72 - 0.99). Conclusion: The restriction to auditory participation is associated with worse self-perception of health. The study reveals the importance of assessing individuals' self-perception regarding biopsychosocial view, in addition to considering the environmental context for understanding the social and emotional impacts of hearing loss.