Prevalence of speech-language and hearing disorders in elderly and younger adults according to sex and age: a population survey.

Purpose: To verify the distribution of self-reported speech-language and hearing disorders and their association to sex and age in a representative sample of the population in southern Brazil.

Methods: Prevalence of speech-language and hearing disorders in elderly and younger adults according to sex and age: a population survey based on a household survey on Human Communication Disorders (DCH-POP Study). Standardized home interviews were conducted using a questionnaire with residents of the city of Porto Alegre between 2012 and 2014. The study outcome was self-reported "speech-language and hearing disorders", constituted from the variables: language, orofacial motricity, hearing, and balance. Analyses of absolute and relative frequencies were performed. Multivariable prevalence ratios were estimated in an adjusted analysis using Poisson Regression with robust variation and 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Of the 1246 individuals interviewed, 918 participants were eligible for this study. Most of them were female (58.1%), and the average age was 48.9 (± 19.6) years. The outcome of speech-language and hearing disorders was found in 364 (39.4%) individuals, and the most affected age group was 60 years old or more (54.4%), with a higher prevalence in men (58.9%) than in women (51.9%). The multivariate analysis showed a significant prevalence ratio only in elderly individuals aged 60 years or older (PR 1.84; 95% CI 1.50-2.26).

Conclusion: In this study, we did not find significant differences between sexes in the prevalence of self-reported speech-language and hearing disorders in elderly and younger adults. However, elderly and younger adults presented a higher prevalence of these disorders.