Abstract
This study aimed to explore the risk of dementia in a middle- and older-aged population with severe or profound hearing impairments. Data were collected for the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort from 2002 to 2013. Participants aged 40 or older were selected. The 4,432 severely hearing-impaired participants were matched 1:4 with 17,728 controls, and the 958 profoundly hearing-impaired participants were matched 1:4 with 3,832 controls who had not reported any hearing impairment. Age, sex, income, region of residence, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia histories were matched between hearing-impaired and control groups. The crude (simple) and adjusted (age, sex, income, region of residence, dementia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and depression) hazard ratios (HRs) of hearing impairment on dementia were analyzed using Cox-proportional hazard models. The severe hearing impairment group showed an increased risk of dementia (adjusted HR = 1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04–1.31, P = 0.010). The profound hearing impairment group also showed an increased risk of dementia (adjusted HR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.14–2.00, P = 0.004). Both severe and profound hearing impairments were associated with elevated the risk of dementia in middle- and older-aged individuals.
Highlights
Dementia is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder with a high economic and social burden
Severe hearing impairment increased the risk of dementia (Table 2)
The present study demonstrated that severe or profound hearing impairment elevated the risk of dementia in a ≥40 years old population
Summary
Dementia is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder with a high economic and social burden. Few studies have investigated the risk of dementia in hearing-impaired subjects in wider age populations. Most previous studies have been conducted in populations 65 to 70 years of age and older[5,6,7,8]. A prospective cohort study reported that the moderate to severe hearing impairment was related to an increased risk of dementia in 70 and 79 years of age population[5]. A prospective study included younger subjects (ages 36–90 years) and found that severe hearing impairment increased the risk for all-cause dementia to 4.94 times that of the normal hearing control group[9]. The hypothesis of the present study was that hearing impairment increases the risk of dementia in both middle- and older-aged subjects. To explore the different impact of the hearing impairment on the risk of dementia according to severe or profound hearing impairment, the hearing impairment groups were divided into severely and profoundly hearing-impaired groups
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