Get help now — free helplines

You can call any of these for free. You do not need a diagnosis, an appointment, or a crisis to call — questions and plain exhaustion are reasons enough.

  • Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Free, confidential support and information for people with dementia, caregivers, families and the public. Master's-level clinicians. Also Spanish.
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 24/7 Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. For anyone in emotional distress or a mental-health crisis, including caregivers.
  • Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) Helpline 866-232-8484 9:00 am - 9:00 pm ET, seven days a week Licensed social workers providing support, info and referrals. Also text message and web chat. Text: 646-586-5283

In a medical emergency, call 911. More numbers, and what each line does, on the help page.

This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 59 out of 100. Health systems and care delivery

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

After cohort matching, 48% of participants were women (n = 74 464), 61% were white (n = 93 442), and 31% (n = 48 056) were Medicare Advantage insured, with a mean (SD) age of 64 (10) years. In a multivariate-adjusted modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors, relative associations were strongest for dementia (relative risk at 5 years, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.38-1.64) and depression (relative risk at 5 years, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.26-1.58). The absolute risk of all outcomes was greater in persons with hearing loss than in those without hearing loss at all times, with the greatest risk difference observed at 10 years for all outcomes. The 10-year risk attributable to hearing loss was 3.20 per 100 persons (95% CI, 1.76-4.63) for dementia, 3.57 per 100 persons (95% CI, 1.67-5.47) for falls, and 6.88 per 100 persons (95% CI, 4.62-9.14) for depression. Conclusions and Relevance: In this large observational study using administrative claims data, incident untreated hearing loss was associated with greater incident morbidity than no hearing loss across a range of health conditions. Future studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these associations and to determine if treatment for hearing loss could reduce the risk of comorbidity.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Deal, J. A., Reed, N. S., Kravetz, A. D., Weinreich, H. M., Yeh, C. S., Lin, F. R., et al. (2018). Incident Hearing Loss and Comorbidity. JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2018.2876

Vancouver

Deal JA, Reed NS, Kravetz AD, Weinreich HM, Yeh CS, Lin FR, et al. Incident Hearing Loss and Comorbidity. JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. 2018. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2018.2876. PMID: 30419134.

BibTeX

@article{deal2018-30419134,
  author  = {Deal, Jennifer A. and Reed, Nicholas Simon and Kravetz, Alexander D. and Weinreich, Heather M. and Yeh, Charlotte S. and Lin, Frank Robert and Altan, Aylin},
  title   = {{Incident Hearing Loss and Comorbidity}},
  journal = {JAMA Otolaryngology–Head \& Neck Surgery},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamaoto.2018.2876},
  pmid    = {30419134},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2018.2876}
}

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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

Why it matters

This large observational study found that incident untreated hearing loss was associated with a higher risk of dementia and other health conditions. It does not prove that treating hearing loss prevents dementia, and future studies are needed to determine if treatment could reduce risk.

Study details

How this study scored 59/100
How this study's score is builtJournal tier 7 of 10; Journal's citation record 1 of 4; Study design 7 of 12; Strength of evidence 3 of 5; Peer-review validation 10 of 10; How recent 2 of 5; Sample size 2 of 4; Effect reported 0 of 3; Studied in people 3 of 3; Randomised / blinded 0 of 2; Times cited 5 of 7; Citations per year 3 of 5; Impact for its field and year 3 of 6; Cited by studies here 2 of 6; Still being cited 2 of 4; Senior author's track record 1 of 4; Institution's track record 2 of 3; Multi-centre collaboration 2 of 3; Indexed in PubMed 2 of 2; Free to read 2 of 2. Total 59 of 100.59 of 100 points earned41 not earned

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

ComponentPointsWhy
Journal tier 7 / 10 Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery)
Journal's citation record 1 / 4 JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery: journal h-index 107 (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 2 / 5 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size 2 / 4 154 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 138 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year 3 / 5 13.8 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018
Impact for its field and year 3 / 6 Cited 6.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here 2 / 6 Cited by 3 other studies in this library
Still being cited 2 / 4 Cited 48 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record 1 / 4 Last-listed author Aylin Altan: h-index 10 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record 2 / 3 Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration 2 / 3 OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed 2 / 2 Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30419134)
Free to read 2 / 2 Free to read
Total 59 / 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).

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Later studies that cite this one

3 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.

Related studies in Health systems and care delivery

Also in Health systems and care delivery

172 studies in the library are filed under Health systems and care delivery with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Health systems and care delivery hub.

Similar studies

More on Health systems and care delivery

See all studies in Health systems and care delivery →