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Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The Health ABC Study
Deal JA, Betz J, Yaffe K, Harris T, Purchase-Helzner E, Satterfield S, Pratt S, Govil N et al.. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2017-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Age-related peripheral hearing impairment (HI) is prevalent, treatable, and may be a risk factor for dementia in older adults. In prospective analysis, we quantified the association of HI with incident dementia and with domain-specific cognitive decline in memory, perceptual speed, and processing speed. Methods Data were from the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) study, a biracial cohort of well-functioning adults aged 70-79 years. Dementia was defined using a prespecified algorithm incorporating medication use, hospital records, and neurocognitive test scores. A pure-tone average in decibels hearing level (dBHL) was calculated in the better hearing ear using thresholds from 0.5 to 4kHz, and HI was defined as normal hearing (≤25 dBHL), mild (26-40 dBHL), and moderate/severe (>40 dBHL). Associations between HI and incident dementia and between HI and cognitive change were modeled using Cox proportional hazards models and linear mixed models, respectively. Results Three-hundred eighty seven (20%) participants had moderate/severe HI, and 716 (38%) had mild HI. After adjustment for demographic and cardiovascular factors, moderate/severe audiometric HI (vs. normal hearing) was associated with increased risk of incident dementia over 9 years (hazard ratio: 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10, 2.19). Other than poorer baseline memory performance (difference of -0.24 SDs, 95% CI: -0.44, -0.04), no associations were observed between HI and rates of domain-specific cognitive change during 7 years of follow-up. Conclusions HI is associated with increased risk of developing dementia in older adults. Randomized trials are needed to determine whether treatment of hearing loss could postpone dementia onset in older adults.
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APA 7th
Deal, J. A., Betz, J., Yaffe, K., Harris, T., Purchase-Helzner, E., Satterfield, S., et al. (2017). Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The Health ABC Study. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glw069
Vancouver
Deal JA, Betz J, Yaffe K, Harris T, Purchase-Helzner E, Satterfield S, et al. Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The Health ABC Study. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2017. doi:10.1093/gerona/glw069. PMID: 27071780.
BibTeX
@article{deal2017-27071780,
author = {Deal, J. A. and Betz, J. and Yaffe, K. and Harris, T. and Purchase-Helzner, E. and Satterfield, S. and Pratt, S. and Govil, N. and others},
title = {{Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The Health ABC Study}},
journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1093/gerona/glw069},
pmid = {27071780},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glw069}
}
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Key findings
- Results Three-hundred eighty seven (20%) participants had moderate/severe HI, and 716 (38%) had mild HI.
- After adjustment for demographic and cardiovascular factors, moderate/severe audiometric HI (vs. normal hearing) was associated with increased risk of incident dementia over 9 years (hazard ratio: 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10, 2.19).
- Conclusions HI is associated with increased risk of developing dementia in older adults.
Why it matters
In this cohort of older adults, moderate/severe hearing impairment was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia over 9 years. The authors conclude that hearing impairment is associated with increased risk of developing dementia in older adults.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 57 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 59 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | The Journals of Gerontology Series A: journal h-index 274 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 512 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 46.5 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 22.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 32 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 125 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 12 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 27071780) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 57 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 57 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 59 out of 100. |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glw069
- PubMed: 27071780
- Original source →
- Free full text: The Journals of Gerontology Series A →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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