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Cited by 64Hearing Loss and RehabilitationDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchHearing Impairment and Communication

Association of the use of hearing aids with the conversion from mild cognitive impairment to dementia and progression of dementia: A longitudinal retrospective study

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Bucholc, Magda, McClean, Paula L., Bauermeister, Sarah, Todd, Stephen, Ding, Xuemei, Ye, Qinyong, Wang, Desheng, Huang, Wei +1 more·2021·Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions
DOI 10.1002/trc2.12122PMC PMC7882528

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Abstract

Abstract INTRODUCTION Hearing aid usage has been linked to improvements in cognition, communication, and socialization, but the extent to which it can affect the incidence and progression of dementia is unknown. Such research is vital given the high prevalence of dementia and hearing impairment in older adults, and the fact that both conditions often coexist. In this study, we examined for the first time the effect of the use of hearing aids on the conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia and progression of dementia. METHODS We used a large referral-based cohort of 2114 hearing-impaired patients obtained from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center. Survival analyses using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model and weighted Cox regression model with censored data were performed to assess the effect of hearing aid use on the risk of conversion from MCI to dementia and risk of death in hearing-impaired participants. Disease progression was assessed with CDR® Dementia Staging Instrument Sum of Boxes (CDRSB) scores. Three types of sensitivity analyses were performed to validate the robustness of the results. RESULTS MCI participants that used hearing aids were at significantly lower risk of developing all-cause dementia compared to those not using hearing aids (hazard ratio [HR] 0.73, 95%CI, 0.61-0.89; false discovery rate [FDR] P =0.004). The mean annual rate of change (standard deviation) in CDRSB scores for hearing aid users with MCI was 1.3 (1.45) points and significantly lower than for individuals not wearing hearing aids with a 1.7 (1.95) point increase in CDRSB per year ( P =0.02). No association between hearing aid use and risk of death was observed. Our findings were robust subject to sensitivity analyses. DISCUSSION Among hearing-impaired adults, hearing aid use was independently associated with reduced dementia risk. The causality between hearing aid use and incident dementia should be further tested. Highlights High prevalence of dementia and hearing impairment in older adults Hearing aid (HA) use associated with a lower risk of incident dementia Slower cognitive decline in users than non-users of HA with mild cognitive impairment The relationship between hearing impairment and dementia should be further tested

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  • Hearing aid use in people with hearing impairment is associated with lower risk of cognitive decline (19%) and dementia (17%) compared with uncorrected hearing impairment.

    “people with hearing impairment who used hearing aids had a 19% (0.76-0.87; I 2 = 0%) lower risk of cognitive decline and a 17% (0.770.90; I 2 = 0%, 4 studies) lower risk of dementia, compared to those with uncorrected hearing impairment”

    From Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission (2024) · cites this paper as [102]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports slower cognitive decline among hearing-aid users with mild cognitive impairment, and the Results section on incident dementia (page unavailable) reports lower dementia risk than among non-users (HR 0.73). The paper does not report the attributed 19% and 17% reductions, their confidence intervals, or the four-study I² estimates; its dementia finding is specifically for participants with mild cognitive impairment. (LLM, conf=0.91)

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Authors
Bucholc, M., McClean, P. L., Bauermeister, S., Todd, S., Ding, X., Ye, Q., Wang, D., Huang, W., & Maguire, L. P.
Affiliations
  • University of Ulster (GB)
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Altnagelvin Area Hospital (GB)
  • Fujian Normal University (CN)
  • Union Hospital (CN)
Corresponding author
Bucholc, Magda
ORCID
Venue
Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2021-01
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
e12122-e12122
ISSN
2352-8737 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1002/trc2.12122
PMC
PMC7882528
OpenAlex
W3109369807
Cited by
64
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 4
FWCI
5.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Alzheimer s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • medRxiv (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Ulster University Research Portal (Ulster University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (P30 AG019610, P30 AG013846, P30 AG062428‐01, P50 AG008702, P50 AG025688, P50 AG047266, P30 AG010133, P50 AG005146, P30 AG062421‐01, P30 AG062422‐01, P50 AG005138, P30 AG008051, P30 AG013854, P30 AG008017, P30 AG010161, P50 AG047366, P30 AG010129, P50 AG016573, P30 AG062429‐01, P50 AG023501, P30 AG035982, P30 AG028383, P30 AG053760, P30 AG010124, P50 AG005133, P50 AG005142, P30 AG012300, P30 AG049638, P50 AG005136, P30 AG062715‐01, P50 AG005681, P50 AG047270)
  • National Science Foundation (U01 AG016976)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Hearing Impairment and Communication
Keywords
hearing aids, hearing loss, mild cognitive impairment, conversion to dementia, dementia progression, CDR-SB, all-cause mortality, older adults, Alzheimer's disease

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