[Digital cognitive diagnostics (DiCoDi®) : A tablet-based cognitive test for people with and without hearing loss]

Hearing loss in midlife is considered one of the most important modifiable risk factors for dementia; however, standard cognitive tests often fail to adequately detect cognitive deficits in individuals with hearing loss.

The aim of the study was to present and evaluate the digital cognitive diagnostics (DiCoDi®), a digital cognitive test designed for individuals with and without hearing loss.

The DiCoDi® comprises 9 subtests, is independent of hearing, can be self-administered and takes 20-30 min to complete. A total of 373 individuals were assessed: 204 control participants (mean age: 67.48±12.2 years, women: 58.0 %) and 173 individuals with hearing loss (mean age: 72.86±8.7 years, women: 46.8 %). Based on a combined cognitive index 2 groups were formed: 314 individuals without cognitive impairment (age: 69.38±12.2 years, women: 54.1 %) and 58 individuals with cognitive impairment (age: 72.93±12.2 years, women: 46.6 %). In addition, a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was employed.

In most DiCoDi® subtests there were no significant differences between control participants and individuals with hearing loss. Participants with hearing loss performed significantly better than controls in the subtests "Trail Making A" (_pη² = 0.24) and "Time Estimation" (_pη² = 0.05). Individuals with cognitive impairment performed significantly worse in most DiCoDi® subtests (0.13 ≤ _pη² ≤ 0.28). The DiCoDi® demonstrated high validity, high reliability and good classification accuracy (area under the curve, AUC = 0.80).

The results show that the DiCoDi® can be a valid and reliable tool for the early detection of cognitive deficits in people with and without hearing loss.