Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine whether neuropathologic burden is associated with hearing impairment. METHODS: We studied 2,755 autopsied participants ≥55 years of age from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center database. Participants had at least 1 clinical evaluation at US National Institute on Aging-funded Alzheimer's Disease Center no more than 2 years before death. Patients were classified as hearing impaired by clinician report at baseline. Common dementia neuropathologies included Alzheimer disease pathologic change (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuritic plaque density, neurofibrillary degeneration Braak stage), Lewy body disease, gross infarcts, and microinfarcts. Logistic regression models predicted impaired hearing with adjustment for age at death, sex, race, education, center, and follow-up time. Relative risks were calculated with the use of marginal standardization. RESULTS: Impaired hearing was common (32%). In participants who were cognitively normal at baseline (n = 580), impaired hearing was associated with higher Braak stage (relative risk [RR] 1.33 per 2-stage increase, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.66) but not other pathologies. In participants with dementia (n = 2,175), impaired hearing was positively associated with microinfarcts (RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.00-1.39) and inversely associated with neuritic plaque density (RR 0.91 per score increase, 95% CI 0.85-0.99). Development of impaired hearing in those with cognitive impairment was associated with neocortical Lewy bodies (1.26, 95% CI 1.02-1.55). CONCLUSIONS: Impaired hearing, reported before the onset of cognitive impairment, was associated with increased neurofibrillary tangle burden. Impaired hearing in those with cognitive impairment was associated with microinfarcts and neocortical Lewy bodies but not typical Alzheimer disease pathologic change. Functional hearing problems may be a preclinical marker of neurofibrillary neurodegeneration, although replication is needed.
Source: Neurology
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: G1017046091, G1049636575, G1053905225, G1228824270, Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center, G1602633198, G1711016037, G1859882300, G2190936067, G219693323, G2515091901, Neurobiology of Alzheimer's Disease and Aging, G2984989008, National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, G36881302, G384347443, G3844285414, G3919444319, G40706755, G4076092645, Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, The Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, G4417220376, Predictors of cognitive aging across the lifecourse, Oregon Alzheimer's Disease Center, G556672640, G5977822913, G603598372, G611671633, University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Core Centers, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Longitudinal associations between neighborhood greenspace and brain aging in cognitively normal older adults, Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Yale Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Center, Alzheimer's Disease Core Center, Emory Alzheimer's Disease Center, University of Florida - Mt. Sinai Medical Center AD Research Center, G816726602, G828200374, Relationships Between Multiple Sensory Impairments and Cognitive Decline, UCSD Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center P30, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (MADRC), UCSF Older Americans Independence Center
OpenAlex ID: W3046973479