The Association between Speech-In-Noise Hearing Impairment and Dementia in the UK Biobank
Jonny Stevenson, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand
Authors List
Introduction: Dementia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and the global burden of dementia is increasing. Hearing impairment has been identified as a possible modifiable risk factor for dementia, however, there has been limited evaluation of the association between speech-in-noise hearing impairment and dementia.
Aims: The primary objective was to determine whether speech-in-noise hearing impairment is associated with incident dementia in the UK Biobank. Secondary objectives were to evaluate whether the association is influenced by reverse causation, mediated by social isolation or depression, or modified by hearing aid use.
Methods: In 82,039 dementia-free participants aged ≥60 years selected from UK Biobank, Cox proportional-hazards models were used to investigate whether SiN hearing impairment is associated with an increased risk of incident dementia.
Results: Over 11 years follow-up (median=10.1), 1,285 participants developed dementia. Insufficient and poor SiN hearing were associated with a 61% (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.61, 95% confidence [CI] 1.41-1.84) and 91% (HR=1.91, 95% CI 1.55-2.36) higher risk of developing dementia, respectively, compared with normal SiN hearing. The association remained similar when restricting to follow-up intervals of ≤3, >3-<6, >6-<9 and >9 years. There was limited evidence for mediation through depressive symptoms and social isolation.
Conclusion: SiN hearing impairment is independently associated with incident dementia, providing further evidence for hearing impairment as a potential modifiable dementia risk factor.
Note this research has been published in Alzheimers & Dementia (https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12416) and was presented in the Louis Barnett Prize section of the RACS Surgery 2021 conference, however, may be topic that is of interest to the ORL community at ORL22.
- Stevenson JS, Canterbury District Health Board, New Zealand
- Clifton L, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Kuźmac E, Albertinen-Haus Centre for Geriatrics and Gerontology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- Littlejohns T, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Introduction: Dementia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and the global burden of dementia is increasing. Hearing impairment has been identified as a possible modifiable risk factor for dementia, however, there has been limited evaluation of the association between speech-in-noise hearing impairment and dementia.
Aims: The primary objective was to determine whether speech-in-noise hearing impairment is associated with incident dementia in the UK Biobank. Secondary objectives were to evaluate whether the association is influenced by reverse causation, mediated by social isolation or depression, or modified by hearing aid use.
Methods: In 82,039 dementia-free participants aged ≥60 years selected from UK Biobank, Cox proportional-hazards models were used to investigate whether SiN hearing impairment is associated with an increased risk of incident dementia.
Results: Over 11 years follow-up (median=10.1), 1,285 participants developed dementia. Insufficient and poor SiN hearing were associated with a 61% (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.61, 95% confidence [CI] 1.41-1.84) and 91% (HR=1.91, 95% CI 1.55-2.36) higher risk of developing dementia, respectively, compared with normal SiN hearing. The association remained similar when restricting to follow-up intervals of ≤3, >3-<6, >6-<9 and >9 years. There was limited evidence for mediation through depressive symptoms and social isolation.
Conclusion: SiN hearing impairment is independently associated with incident dementia, providing further evidence for hearing impairment as a potential modifiable dementia risk factor.
Note this research has been published in Alzheimers & Dementia (https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12416) and was presented in the Louis Barnett Prize section of the RACS Surgery 2021 conference, however, may be topic that is of interest to the ORL community at ORL22.