The association of hearing loss with depressive symptoms and cognitive function among older people: Results from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging

Objectives Hearing loss, depression, and cognitive decline are common among older people. We investigated the association of hearing loss with depressive symptoms and cognitive function in a nationally representative sample of people aged 50+ in Brazil. Methods Data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI‐Brazil) included information on self‐reported hearing loss, hearing aid use (effective or not effective), depressive symptoms (CES‐D‐8), and a global cognitive score (composed of immediate and late recall, verbal fluency, orientation and prospective memory) in a sample of 9412 individuals. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the association of hearing loss and hearing aid use with both depressive symptoms and cognitive performance. The analyses were conducted with 7837 participants with complete data, and then repeated with data from the whole sample after multiple imputation. Results Compared to those without hearing loss, those with hearing loss were more likely to have a higher number of depressive symptoms (β: 0.53 (0.40–0.67) p