Assessing online screening tests of health (Goodwin et al., 2022)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which validated online screening measures of cognitive impairment, psychosocial well-being, and cardiovascular health are associated with a validated hearing screener in a sample of adults based in the United Kingdom.Method: Sixty-one adults (43 female; Mage = 44.7 years) participated in a cross-sectional study delivered remotely. Participants completed the hearWHO smartphone application, a digits-in-noise hearing screener, and the Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M), a screening tool for cognitive impairment. Psychosocial well-being (social isolation and loneliness) and cardiovascular health were assessed through self-report.Results: Separate independent analyses of variance, with age, gender, and education as covariates, demonstrated participants who failed the hearWHO screener had poorer scores on the TICS-M, engaged in less physical activity, and reported more sedentary behavior and greater social isolation. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that lower TICS-M scores, having obtained less education, identifying as female, and reporting greater sedentary behavior and social isolation were the strongest predictors of lower hearWHO scores.Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that poorer hearing, as measured by the hearWHO screener, is independently associated with having worse cognitive function, more time spent being sedentary, and greater social isolation. Thus, this study demonstrates the potential of online screening measures to identify additional health conditions that confer risk to chronic disease as hearing loss manifests. This could help to inform the development of tailored treatment and support to improve an individual’s readiness to seek help for and manage both their general and hearing health.Supplemental Material S1. Demographic characteristics of the total sample, with comparisons for younger (18–39 years) and older (≥ 40 years) adults.Goodwin, M. V., Hogervorst, E., & Maidment, D. W. (2022). Test your health at home: Comparing online screening tests of hearing, cognition, and cardiovascular health. American Journal of Audiology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJA-21-00199Publisher Note: This article is part of the Special Issue: Internet and Audiology 2021.研究目的：本研究旨在探究在英国成年人群样本中，经过验证的认知障碍、社会心理福祉及心血管健康在线筛查工具，与经过验证的听力筛查工具之间的关联程度。 研究方法：本研究为远程开展的横断面研究，共纳入61名成年受试者（女性43名；平均年龄为44.7岁）。受试者完成了hearWHO智能手机应用程序、噪声下数字识别听力筛查工具（digits-in-noise hearing screener），以及用于认知障碍筛查的改良版电话访谈认知状态量表（TICS-M）。社会心理福祉（包括社会隔离与孤独感）及心血管健康状况通过自我报告形式进行评估。 研究结果：以年龄、性别与受教育程度作为协变量，分别进行独立方差分析后结果显示，未通过hearWHO听力筛查的受试者在TICS-M量表中得分更低，体力活动更少，自我报告的久坐行为更多且社会隔离程度更高。多元回归分析结果表明，较低的TICS-M量表得分、较低的受教育水平、女性身份，以及更高的久坐行为与社会隔离程度，是hearWHO筛查得分较低的最强预测因子。 研究结论：本研究结果显示，通过hearWHO筛查工具测得的听力受损情况，与较差的认知功能、更长的久坐时长以及更严重的社会隔离程度存在独立关联。由此可见，本研究证实了在线筛查工具可在听力损失显现时，识别出会增加慢性病患病风险的其他健康问题。该发现可为个性化治疗与支持方案的开发提供参考，以提升个体寻求并管理自身整体健康与听力健康帮助的意愿。 补充材料S1：总样本的人口统计学特征，包含青年（18~39岁）与老年（≥40岁）成年人群的组间比较。 参考文献：Goodwin, M. V., Hogervorst, E., & Maidment, D. W. (2022). 居家健康自测：听力、认知与心血管健康在线筛查工具的对比研究. 美国听力学杂志. 网络预发表. https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_AJA-21-00199 出版说明：本文属于《2021年互联网与听力学》特刊的刊载内容。