Cardiovascular Disease and Lifetime Drug Use Among Individuals With Hearing and/or Vision Loss

Background: Individuals with disabilities are more likely to use substances and have cardiovascular disease (CVD) than individuals without disabilities. CVD is associated with drug use, which increases the risk for poor CVD outcomes. Our aim was to test the association between CVD and lifetime drug use (LDU) among those with vision loss (VL) and/or hearing loss (HL) and assess if disability type moderated this association. Methods: Multivariable logistic regression incorporating complex survey design was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) using data from NHANES 2013–2018. Results: Although not quite statistically significant (p ≥.05), the magnitude of effect modification was large. The effect was positive among those with VL (AOR = 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.73, 3.30) or HL (AOR = 1.69, 95% CI = 0.56, 5.11), but among those with both CVD was associated with 75% lower odds of LDU (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.06, 1.05). After adjusting for multiple comparisons, the CVD effect was significantly different between those with VL versus both VL and HL (p <.05), and nearly significantly different between those with HL versus both (p ≥.05). Conclusions: Additional research could focus on the relationship between CVD and LDU among persons with sensory disabilities.