Observational studyBMJ open2023
Association between hearing loss and deprivation among Welsh adults: a cross-sectional observational study.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hearing Loss and Dementia: Risk Factor, Early Marker, or Both?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Hearing impairment and cognitive decline: Alternative explanations to causality.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo index levels of hearing loss with respect to area-level indices of deprivation in a Welsh population.
designA cross-sectional observational study of all adults (aged >18) that attended Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University (ABMU) Health Board audiology services between 2016 and 2018. Service access, first hearing aid fitting appointment rates and hearing loss at time of first hearing aid provision were used to index population hearing loss versus area-level indices of deprivation based on patient postcode.
settingPrimary and secondary care.
participants59 493 patient entries met the inclusion criteria. Patient entries were grouped by age (18-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, >80 years) and deprivation decile.
resultsThe interaction between age group and deprivation decile predicted access rate to ABMU audiology services (b=-0.24, t(6858) = -2.86, p<0.01) with audiology services accessed more frequently by the most deprived versus the least deprived decile in every age group (p<0.05), except the >80 years. First hearing aid fitting rates were highest among the most deprived in the four youngest age groups (p<0.05). Severity of hearing loss at the time of first hearing aid fitting was worse among the most deprived in the five oldest age groups (p<0.01).
conclusionsHearing health inequalities are prevalent among adults accessing ABMU audiology services. Our findings suggest that deprivation increases the likelihood of developing hearing loss, brings earlier onset of hearing loss and is linked to delays in getting help for hearing problems. However, it is not possible to know the true scale of these disparities without knowing the hearing health of the Welsh adult population including those who do not seek help for hearing problems.
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Registered trials
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.