title: Hearing impairment and cognitive decline: a pilot study conducted within the atherosclerosis risk in communities neurocognitive study.
abstract: Hearing impairment (HI) is prevalent, is modifiable, and has been associated with cognitive decline. We tested the hypothesis that audiometric HI measured in 2013 is associated with poorer cognitive function in 253 men and women from Washington County, Maryland (mean age = 76.9 years) in a pilot study carried out within the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study. Three cognitive tests were administered in 1990-1992, 1996-1998, and 2013, and a full neuropsychological battery was administered in 2013. Multivariable-adjusted differences in standardized cognitive scores (cross-sectional analysis) and trajectories of 20-year change (longitudinal analysis) were modeled using linear regression and generalized estimating equations, respectively. Hearing thresholds for pure tone frequencies of 0.5-4 kHz were averaged to obtain a pure tone average in the better-hearing ear. Hearing was categorized as follows: ≤25 dB, no HI; 26-40 dB, mild HI; and >40 dB, moderate/severe HI. Comparing participants with moderate/severe HI to participants with no HI, 20-year rates of decline in memory and global function differed by -0.47 standard deviations (P = 0.02) and -0.29 standard deviations (P = 0.02), respectively. Estimated declines were greatest in participants who did not wear a hearing aid. These findings add to the limited literature on cognitive impairments associated with HI, and they support future research on whether HI treatment may reduce risk of cognitive decline.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Deal
authors.forename: A Richey
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sharrett
authors.forename: Marilyn S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coresh
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Mosley
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Knopman
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wruck
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects
keywords: aging; cognition; cognitive decline; hearing impairment; memory; perbycussis
references.citation: Clin Neuropsychol. 2000 Nov;14(4):526-34
references.pmid: 11262721
references.citation: Q J Exp Psychol. 1968 Aug;20(3):241-8
references.pmid: 5683763
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 1989 Feb;46(2):141-5
references.pmid: 2916953
references.citation: JAMA. 1989 Apr 7;261(13):1916-9
references.pmid: 2926927
references.citation: Neurology. 1993 Apr;43(4):779-85
references.pmid: 8469340
references.citation: J Aging Health. 1993 May;5(2):179-93
references.pmid: 10125443
references.citation: Otol Neurotol. 2009 Feb;30(2):139-45
references.pmid: 19092714
references.citation: Acta Otolaryngol. 2009 Apr;129(4):416-8
references.pmid: 19116791
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 2009 Sep;24(3):761-6
references.pmid: 19739934
references.citation: Am J Cardiol. 2010 Jun 15;105(12):1661-5
references.pmid: 20538111
references.citation: Ann Behav Med. 2010 Oct;40(2):218-27
references.pmid: 20652462
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 2011 Feb;68(2):214-20
references.pmid: 21320988
references.citation: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 May;66(5):582-90
references.pmid: 21357188
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2011 Aug 31;31(35):12638-43
references.pmid: 21880924
references.citation: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 Oct;66(10):1131-6
references.pmid: 21768501
references.citation: Age Ageing. 2011 Nov;40(6):684-9
references.pmid: 21890481
references.citation: Neuropsychology. 2011 Nov;25(6):763-70
references.pmid: 21728425
references.citation: Aging Ment Health. 2014;18(6):671-3
references.pmid: 24875093
references.citation: JAMA Neurol. 2014 Oct;71(10):1218-27
references.pmid: 25090106
references.citation: Neurology. 2012 Oct 9;79(15):1583-90
references.pmid: 23019269
references.citation: JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Feb 25;173(4):293-9
references.pmid: 23337978
references.citation: Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Apr;148(4):537-9
references.pmid: 23396589
references.citation: Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2014 Mar;150(3):378-84
references.pmid: 24384545
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2014 Apr 15;90:84-92
references.pmid: 24412398
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Apr 15;179(8):956-66
references.pmid: 24627572