Prevalência do diagnóstico tardio de surdez e a relação com a qualidade de vida em adultos

Abstract

Deafness, the technical name for which is hypoacusis, is a major cause of poor quality of life. It can be classified according to its degree (Mild, Moderate, Moderately Severe, Severe, Profound and Total), type (Sensorineural, Conductive, Mixed), laterality (Bilateral or Unilateral) and symmetry (Symmetrical or Asymmetrical). The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of late diagnosis of deafness in adults and its relationship with quality of life. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study carried out at the Medical School of the Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul campus Passo Fundo - RS, with data collection using an electronic questionnaire from January 27, 2023 to May 30, 2023. The independent variable was the age of the individual at the time of diagnosis of deafblindness (early/late diagnosis) and the outcome (dependent variable) was quality of life, which was assessed using the WHOQOL-bref instrument from the World Health Organization. The sample included deaf individuals aged between 18 and 59 living in Brazil. A descriptive analysis was carried out with the distribution of absolute and relative frequencies of all the variables, in order to provide an overview of the sociodemographic, behavioral and health characteristics of the sample. The final sample consisted of 161 individuals. It can be concluded that a minority of the participants were diagnosed early (16.1%) and even so showed a poor/regular quality of life (49.7%). It was also observed that among the four domains assessed, the physical domain had the highest average score (72.55 ± 12.89), while the environmental domain had the lowest average score among the sample (68.31 ± 13.15) and the frequency of individuals with poor quality of life was higher among those with an early diagnosis (73.1%, p=0.039). It is therefore clear that the quality of life of deaf individuals is related not only to the age at diagnosis, but also to the degree of hearing loss.