Abstract
BackgroundIt remains unknown whether hearing loss increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This study aimed to examine the association between hearing loss and risk of Alzheimer’s disease in older people in Taiwan.MethodsAnalyzing the database from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Program, this case-control study enrolled 488 subjects ≥65 years old with newly diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease as a case group and 1952 subjects without Alzheimer’s disease as a control group from 1998–2011. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other comorbidities were identified by analyzing ICD-9 coding in claims data. The association of hearing loss, other comorbidities, and risk of Alzheimer’s disease were compared between groups.ResultsAfter controlling for confounders, multivariable logistic regression showed an adjusted odds ratio of Alzheimer’s disease of 1.39 in people with hearing loss (95% CI, 1.05–1.84) versus those without. Parkinson’s disease (OR 4.44; 95% CI, 2.54–7.78), head injury (OR 2.31; 95% CI, 1.46–3.66), depression (OR 1.68; 95% CI, 1.19–2.39), hypertension (OR 1.40; 95% CI, 1.10–1.79), and age (each year, OR 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01–1.05) also showed strong links with Alzheimer’s.ConclusionsHearing loss is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease in older people in Taiwan.
Highlights
Dementia is a major health issue and an ongoing non-negligible socioeconomic problem
Given the limitations of claims data, we designed this study to show the association between hearing loss and Alzheimer’s disease
Hearing impairment, including that which occurs in elderly patients, is usually designated as sensorineural, conductive, or mixed
Summary
Dementia is a major health issue and an ongoing non-negligible socioeconomic problem. Other epidemiologic associations have been reported in recent decades.[6,7] Most comorbidities cited as linked with Alzheimer’s relate to aging. It remains unknown whether hearing loss increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This study aimed to examine the association between hearing loss and risk of Alzheimer’s disease in older people in Taiwan. Results: After controlling for confounders, multivariable logistic regression showed an adjusted odds ratio of Alzheimer’s disease of 1.39 in people with hearing loss (95% CI, 1.05–1.84) versus those without. Conclusions: Hearing loss is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease in older people in Taiwan
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