Associations Between Hearing Loss and Dementia in a Large Electronic Health Record System

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Neurology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• National datasets for hearing loss research are limited by few variables and participants with severe disease.
• Electronic health records (EHRs) offer a valuable alternative for large-scale epidemiological studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between audiometric hearing loss and dementia using large EHR datasets.
• To overcome limitations of previous studies by utilizing comprehensive clinical data.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, multicentered retrospective study of 31,997 participants from Columbia and Cornell University medical centers.
• Audiometric measures (pure tone average, word recognition score, speech reception threshold) from the better ear were analyzed.
• Dementia was identified via ICD-10 codes, medication lists, or both. Logistic regressions controlled for age, sex, and cardiovascular risk score.

Main Results:

• Worsening hearing, by all audiometric measures, was associated with increased odds of dementia.
• For every 10-dB worsening in pure tone average, dementia odds increased by 1.11 (95% CI: 1.07-1.16).
• For every 10% worsening in word recognition score, dementia odds increased by 1.06 (95% CI: 1.01-1.11).
• For every 10-dB worsening in speech reception threshold, dementia odds increased by 1.10 (95% CI: 1.05-1.15).

Conclusions:

• Audiometric hearing loss, defined in multiple ways, is significantly associated with increased odds of dementia.
• Large EHR systems can effectively support and expand research on hearing loss and its comorbidities, such as dementia.