Received 21 June 2004; received in revised form 28 October 2004; accepted 30 October 2004.
Abstract
The previously reported but still poorly investigated link between deafness or hearing impairment (DHI) and the onset of positive psychotic experiences was investigated prospectively in a general population sample. Of the 109 DHI subjects at baseline, 11 (10.1%) displayed psychotic experiences at T2 versus 137 (2.9%) of the non-DHI subjects (OR=3.8, 95% CI: 2.0, 7.2). This effect size was only slightly attenuated after adjustment for baseline psychotic experiences (OR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.6, 6.5) and after adjustment for T0 psychotic experiences and a range of other confounders (OR=3.0, 95% CI: 1.4, 6.2) These results confirm previous findings of an association between hearing impairments and psychosis and show that this association can also be found prospectively in a nonclinical population.
aDepartment of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, South Limburg Mental Health Research and Teaching Network, EURON, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, (DRT 10), 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
bSection Social Cognition, Mondriaan Zorggroep, Heerlen, The Netherlands
cSchool of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
dThe Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
eDivision of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, South Limburg Mental Health Research and Teaching Network, EURON, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, (DRT 10), 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 43 3875443; fax: +31 43 3875444.
ABSTRACT