Home › Research › Long-term cohort studies
Hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy and tau pathology
Wang HF, Zhang W, Rolls ET, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Li Y, Wang L, Ma YH, Kang J et al.. EBioMedicine, 2022-11-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Hearing impairment was recently identified as the most prominent risk factor for dementia. However, the mechanisms underlying the link between hearing impairment and dementia are still unclear. Methods We investigated the association of hearing performance with cognitive function, brain structure and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins in cross-sectional, longitudinal, mediation and genetic association analyses across the UK Biobank (N = 165,550), the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and Lifestyle (CABLE, N = 863) study, and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI, N = 1770) database.
Key findings
- However, the mechanisms underlying the link between hearing impairment and dementia are still unclear.
- Methods We investigated the association of hearing performance with cognitive function, brain structure and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins in cross-sectional, longitudinal, mediation and genetic association analyses across the UK Biobank (N = 165,550), the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and Lifestyle (CABLE, N = 863) study, and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI, N = 1770) database.
- Findings Poor hearing performance was associated with worse cognitive function in the UK Biobank and in the CABLE study.
- Hearing impairment was significantly related to lower volume of temporal cortex, hippocampus, inferior parietal lobe, precuneus, etc., and to lower integrity of white matter (WM) tracts.
Why it matters
Across several large datasets, poorer hearing was associated with worse cognitive function, brain atrophy, and tau pathology. This supports hearing impairment as a risk marker, but the study did not test whether treating hearing loss prevents dementia.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants165,550
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (EBioMedicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | EBioMedicine: journal h-index 181 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in 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 | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 165,550 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 120 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 20.0 citations a year over 6 year(s) since 2022 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 102 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Wei Cheng: h-index 53 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Fudan University: institution h-index 954 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 10 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 36356475) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Wang, H. F., Zhang, W., Rolls, E. T., Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Li, Y., Wang, L., et al. (2022). Hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy and tau pathology. EBioMedicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104336
Vancouver
Wang HF, Zhang W, Rolls ET, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Li Y, Wang L, et al. Hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy and tau pathology. EBioMedicine. 2022. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104336. PMID: 36356475.
BibTeX
@article{wang2022-36356475,
author = {Wang, H. F. and Zhang, W. and Rolls, E. T. and {Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative} and Li, Y. and Wang, L. and Ma, Y. H. and Kang, J. and others},
title = {{Hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy and tau pathology}},
journal = {EBioMedicine},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104336},
pmid = {36356475},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104336}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 20.
Later studies that cite this one
5 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.