Hearing Impairment Increases Economic Inequality.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

We evaluated changes in income levels in a hearing-impaired population.

Methods

The study subjects were selected from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort data from 2002 to 2015 of Koreans ≥40 years old. In total, 5,857 hearing-impaired subjects were matched with 23,428 comparison participants. Differences between the initial income level and income levels at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years post-enrollment were compared between the hearing-impaired and comparison groups. The interaction of time and hearing impairment/comparison was estimated.

Results

Both the hearing-impaired group and the comparison group showed increased income levels over time. In the hearing-impaired group, the income levels at 4 and 5 years post-enrollment were

SUBMITTER: Kim SY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8373834 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature