title: Apolipoprotein E Allele and Hearing Thresholds in Older Adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Whether apolipoprotein E (APOE) E4 allele status which is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline is also associated with hearing impairment is unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 1833 men and women enrolled in the Health, Aging and Body Composition study. Regression models adjusted for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors were used to assess the cross-sectional association of APOE-E4 status with individual pure tone hearing thresholds and the 4-frequency pure tone average (0.5-4 kHz) in the better hearing ear.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to participants with no APOE-E4 alleles, participants with 1 allele had better thresholds at 4.0 kHz (β = -2.72 dB, P = .013) and 8.0 kHz (β = -3.05 kHz, P = .006), and participants with 2 alleles had better hearing thresholds at 1.0 kHz (β = -8.56 dB, P = .021).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that APOE-E4 allele status may be marginally associated with better hearing thresholds in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mener
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Betz
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Tamara B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Helzner
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satterfield
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest School of Medicine, Sticht Center on Aging, Winston Salem, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Denise K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Houston
authors.affiliation: Center for Aging and Population Health, Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Elsa S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Strotmeyer
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Communication Science & Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Sheila R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.affiliation: Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Eleanor M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Simonsick
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000483:Alleles; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4
keywords: aging; apolipoprotein E; cognition; dementia; hearing loss; hearing thresholds