Effects of Hearing Intervention on Physical Activity Measured by Accelerometry: a secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE Study

Schrack, Jennifer A.; Wanigatunga, Amal A.; Glynn, Nancy W.; Arnold, Michelle L.; Burgard, Sheila; Chisolm, Theresa H.; Couper, David; Deal, Jennifer A.; Gmelin, Theresa; Goman, Adele M.; Huang, Alison R.; Gravens-Mueller, Lisa; Hayden, Kathleen M.; Martinez-Amezcua, Pablo; Mitchell, Christine M.; Pankow, James S.; Pike, James R.; Reed, Nicolas S.; Sanchez, Victoria A.; Sullivan, Kevin J.; Coresh, Josef; Lin, Frank R.

Abstract

Background: Hearing loss is prevalent in older adults and associated with reduced daily physical activity, but whether hearing intervention attenuates declines in physical activity is unknown . We investigated the 3-year effect of a hearing intervention versus a health education control on accelerometer-measured physical activity in older adults with hearing loss.

Methods: This secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE randomized controlled trial included 977 adults aged 70-84 years with hearing loss. Participants were randomized to either a hearing intervention group or a health education control group. Physical activity was measured using wrist-worn accelerometers at baseline, 1, 2, and 3 years. Linear mixed models assessed the impact of the intervention on changes in total activity counts, active minutes per day, and activity fragmentation. Results: Among 847 participants in the final analysis (mean age 76.2 years; 440 [52%] women; 87 [10%] Black; 5 [0.8%] Hispanic), total activity counts declined by 2.7% annually and active minutes/day declined by 2.1% annually over 3-years in both intervention and control groups. Activity patterns also became more fragmented over time. No appreciable differences were observed between hearing intervention and health education control in 3-year change in accelerometry-measured physical activity measures.

Conclusions: Hearing intervention did not appreciably attenuate 3-year declines in physical activity compared to health education control in older adults with hearing loss. Alternative strategies beyond hearing treatment may be needed to enhance physical activity among older adults with hearing loss

Citation

Schrack, J. A., Wanigatunga, A. A., Glynn, N. W., Arnold, M. L., Burgard, S., Chisolm, T. H., Couper, D., Deal, J. A., Gmelin, T., Goman, A. M., Huang, A. R., Gravens-Mueller, L., Hayden, K. M., Martinez-Amezcua, P., Mitchell, C. M., Pankow, J. S., Pike, J. R., Reed, N. S., Sanchez, V. A., Sullivan, K. J., …Lin, F. R. (in press). Effects of Hearing Intervention on Physical Activity Measured by Accelerometry: a secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 16, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 18, 2025
• Journal: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
• Print ISSN: 0002-8614
• Electronic ISSN: 1532-5415
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: hearing loss, physical activity, hearing aids