Hearing impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia: A meta-analysis of cohort studies

• Authors: Jingkai Wei, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Yirui Hu, Geisinger Health System; Li Zhang, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Qiang Hao, University at Buffalo; Ruowei Yang, University of Maryland; Haidong Lu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Xuan Zhang, University of Kentucky; Eeshwar Chandrasekar, Emory University
• Journal Title: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra
• Volume: Volume 7, Number 3
• Publisher: Karger Publishers Open Access | 2017-09-28, Pages 440-452
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1159/000485178
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Pathology
• Keywords: Dementia; Hearing impairment; Meta-analysis; Mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Background: To estimate a pooled association between hearing impairment and risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for prospective cohort studies that examined the association between hearing impairment and risk of mild cognitive impairment and/or dementia. Random-effects models were fitted to estimate the summary risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs), which represents the pooled association between hearing impairment with risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia, compared to subjects free of hearing impairment. Results: Four studies on hearing impairment with mild cognitive impairment and 7 studies on hearing impairment with dementia were included in the meta-analysis. A total of 15,521 subjects were studied with follow-up periods between 2 and 16.8 years. Hearing impairment was associated with a greater risk of mild cognitive impairment (RR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.51) and dementia (RR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.58, 3.61). Conclusions: The meta-analysis showed that hearing impairment is associated with a higher risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia among older adults.