Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34034656›Full record

SynthesisBMC geriatrics2021

Association between hearing loss and frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Rong Tian, Osvaldo P Almeida, Dona M P Jayakody, Andrew H Ford

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
37citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Increased risk of frailty and falls in older persons with hearing loss.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
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  12. It's time for a healthy aging strategy for Canada's Veterans.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Rong TianMedical School, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Western Australia, 6009, Perth, Australia. rong.tian@research.uwa.edu.au.
Osvaldo P AlmeidaMedical School, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Western Australia, 6009, Perth, Australia.
Dona M P JayakodyMedical School, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Western Australia, 6009, Perth, Australia.
Andrew H FordMedical School, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Western Australia, 6009, Perth, Australia.
University of Western Australia · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFrailty is associated with poor health outcomes in later life. Recent studies suggested that hearing loss may be a potentially modifiable risk factor associated with frailty.

methodsThis systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association between hearing loss and frailty in observational studies of adults aged 50 years or over. We included observational studies with participants ≥ 50 years old that have clear descriptions of hearing and frailty measurement methods. Meta-analyses were conducted using measurement of risk and 95 % confidence interval of each individual study. Quality assessment, risk of bias, heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Our study followed PRISMA guidelines.

resultsOur search identified 4508 manuscripts published in English between 1 and 2000 and 9 February 2021. Sixteen articles reported acceptable measurements of both hearing loss and frailty. Two papers were not suitable for meta-analysis. Twelve sets of cross-sectional data involving 12,313 participants, and three sets of longitudinal data involving 3042 participants were used in the meta-analysis. Hearing loss was associated with an 87 % increase in the risk of frailty among cross-sectional studies (risk ratio [RR] 1.87; 95 %CI 1.63-2.13) and 56 % among longitudinal studies (RR 1.56; 95 %CI 1.29-1.88). There was considerable heterogeneity among studies, but their quality rating, sample size or approach used to assess hearing loss did not change the results substantially.

conclusionsThe findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies suggest that hearing loss increases the risk of frailty in later life. Whether this relationship is causal remains to be determined.

Indexed as

FrailtyHearing LossAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFrail ElderlyHumansRisk FactorsAge related hearing lossfrail elderlyhearing impairmentphysical function

Identifiers

PMID34034656
PMCPMC8147347
OpenAlexW3164731027

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.