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Central auditory dysfunction may precede the onset of clinical dementia in people with probable Alzheimer's disease
Gates GA, Beiser A, Rees TS, D'Agostino RB, Wolf PA.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2002-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives To document the prognostic significance of a central auditory speech-processing deficit for the subsequent onset of probable Alzheimer's disease. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Framingham Heart Study. Participants Seven hundred forty dementia-free volunteers from the Framingham Heart Study cohort with symmetric hearing thresholds at biennial examination 15 (1983-1985). Measurements The diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease was made prospectively using the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease Related Disorder Association criteria. A central auditory speech-processing deficit was defined as a score of 50% of less correct on the Synthetic Sentence Identification with Ipsilateral Competing Message test in at least one ear with normal word recognition ability in both ears. Cox proportional hazards regression assessed the relationship between a central auditory speech-processing deficit and the age at diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease. Results Forty subjects (5.4%) received a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease during an average of 8.4 years (range 3-12) of follow-up; seven (17.5%) of these had a central auditory speech-processing deficit. The presence of a central auditory speech-processing deficit had an age-adjusted risk ratio for probable Alzheimer's disease of 10.8 (95% CI = 4.6-25.2), and the estimated risk ratio adjusted for age, gender, education level, apolipoprotein allele E4 presence, and hearing level was 23.3 (95% CI =6.6-82.7). A central auditory speech-processing deficit had a positive predictive value for subsequent probable Alzheimer's disease of 47% but the sensitivity was only 17.5%. Conclusion Central auditory speech-processing deficits may be an early manifestation of probable Alzheimer's disease and may precede the onset of dementia diagnosis by many years.
Key findings
- Results Forty subjects (5.4%) received a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease during an average of 8.4 years (range 3-12) of follow-up; seven (17.5%) of these had a central auditory speech-processing deficit.
Why it matters
In this cohort, a central auditory speech-processing deficit was linked to a much higher risk of later being diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease. This is an observational finding about a possible early marker, not a treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Effect size5.4%; 17.5%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 205 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.9 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 11 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 24 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Philip A. Wolf: h-index 149 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11943044) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50114.x
- PubMed: 11943044
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Gates, G. A., Beiser, A., Rees, T. S., D'Agostino, R. B., & Wolf, P. A. (2002). Central auditory dysfunction may precede the onset of clinical dementia in people with probable Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50114.x
Vancouver
Gates GA, Beiser A, Rees TS, D'Agostino RB, Wolf PA. Central auditory dysfunction may precede the onset of clinical dementia in people with probable Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2002. doi:10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50114.x. PMID: 11943044.
BibTeX
@article{gates2002-11943044,
author = {Gates, G. A. and Beiser, A. and Rees, T. S. and D'Agostino, R. B. and Wolf, P. A.},
title = {{Central auditory dysfunction may precede the onset of clinical dementia in people with probable Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50114.x},
pmid = {11943044},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50114.x}
}
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