The Association between Untreated and Treated Hearing Loss and Cognitive Performance in Men and Women Aged 60–96 Years: Data from the Swedish “Good Aging in Skåne” Population Study

TL;DR

This study finds that hearing loss, even when treated, is linked to cognitive impairment in older adults, with differences observed between men and women.

Contribution

The study provides sex-stratified evidence on the association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment in older adults.

Findings

Treated hearing loss in men was associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment (OR = 1.64).

Untreated and treated hearing loss in women were both linked to cognitive impairment (ORs = 1.45 and 1.46).

The study highlights the need for hearing loss screening in older adults to identify those at risk of cognitive decline.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Recent decades have witnessed a sharp increase in research investigating the association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment. Few previous studies have stratified for sex when investigating this issue, where results were inconsistent and require further clarification. Thus, the objective was to investigate the association between self-reported hearing loss and levels of cognitive impairment, stratified for sex. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 2001 to 2016. The study sample consisted of 5075 individuals, 2325 (45.8%) men, mean age 68.3 years, and 2750 (54.2%) women, mean age 70.0 years. Multiple variate ordinal regression models were constructed and adjusted for age, marital status, education, physical activity, depressive mood, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and use of sedatives to investigate associations between groups of self-reported untreated and treated hearing loss and those reporting no hearing loss in relation to levels of cognitive impairment assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination scale. Results: In men, treated hearing loss was associated with levels of cognitive impairment, odds ratio (OR) = 1.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14–2.36. In women, both untreated hearing loss, (OR = 1.45, CI 1.07–1.98) and treated hearing loss (OR= 1.46, CI 1.06–2.04) were associated with levels of cognitive impairment. Conclusions: Hearing loss was found to be associated with cognitive impairment despite hearing aid use as well as awareness amongst physicians. The introduction of screening programs for hearing loss in older adults could be a crucial step for earlier identification of individuals at higher risk of developing cognitive impairment and dementia.

Figures