Abstract
Hearing loss in later life has been associated with risk of dementia. The impact of risk factors for dementia may change during life, and it is unknown whether hearing loss early in midlife represents a risk factor for dementia. We examined whether hearing loss diagnosed in midlife was associated with an increased risk of dementia. A cohort comprising 942,567 Danish men enrolled in the mandatory conscription board examination was followed from conscription (age 19). Cognitive ability was measured at conscription, while hearing loss was ascertained either by physicians diagnosis at conscription or by the Danish National Patient Registry from 1977 to 2016 (ICD-8:388; 389; ICD-10:H90; H91). Differences in cognitive ability in relation to hearing loss at conscription were calculated using t test, while the risk of dementia associated with hearing loss was estimated using Cox regression with adjustment for cognitive ability, education, depression, diabetes, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease. Men with hearing loss at conscription had about 2 points (corresponding to 0.20 SD) lower mean cognitive score than those without hearing loss. During follow-up, 59,834 men had a hearing loss diagnosis, while 9114 were diagnosed with dementia. Midlife hearing loss was associated with an increased rate of dementia diagnosed before age 60 (adjusted Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.90 [95% CI 1.59–2.76]) or at a later age (adjusted HR = 1.15 [95% CI 1.06–1.25]). Our study supports the evidence that early identification and correction of hearing loss holds promise for prevention of dementia later in life.
Abbreviations
- BPP:
-
Børge Prien Prøve
- CI:
-
Confidence interval
- DCD:
-
Danish Conscription Database
- DCR:
-
Danish Conscription Registry
- DNPR:
-
Danish National Patient Registry
- HR:
-
Hazard ratio
- ICD-8:
-
International Classification of Disease, Eighth Edition
- ICD-10:
-
International Classification of Disease, Tenth Edition
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Funding
The work was supported by the Danish medical Research Council [Grant Number 09-063599 and 09-069151] and the Velux Foundation [Grant Number 31205], the Jascha Foundation and Doctor Sofus Carl Emil Friis and Olga Doris Friis grant.
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Merete Osler (MO) conceptualized and designed the study, acquired the data, carried out the analyses and drafted the initial manuscript. Gunhild Tidemann Christensen (GTC) helped to acquire the data. Maarteen Pieter Rozing was involved in the initial conceptualization of the study. All authors critically reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript as submitted. MO and GTC had complete access to the study data that support the publication.
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Osler, M., Christensen, G.T., Mortensen, E.L. et al. Hearing loss, cognitive ability, and dementia in men age 19–78 years. Eur J Epidemiol 34, 125–130 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0452-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0452-2