Hearing and visual acuity predict cognitive function in adults aged 45–85 years: Findings from the baseline wave of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

Abstract

Associations between sensory status and cognitive performance are now widely reported. However, important open questions remain, including whether the associations are similar across sensory modalities, whether sensory status predicts cognitive performance independent of the cognitive task modality, and whether demographic/health variables moderate these associations. We examined data from a population sample of 30,029 Canadians aged 45-85 (the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging). Hearing was measured as the better ear pure-tone threshold average and vision as the better-eye pinhole-corrected visual acuity. Controlling for age, education, sex, multilingual status, and the other sensory modality, participants with poorer hearing had poorer auditory verbal learning and memory (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) and executive function (Stroop, phonemic and semantic oral fluency, mental alternation) and those with poorer vision had poorer executive function. The sensory-cognitive associations were largely independent of the modality of test administration. The association between hearing loss and executive function was greater for persons who were data set Version 3.3 and Baseline Comprehensive data set Version 3.2, under Application Number 160605. The CLSA is led by Drs. Parminder Raina, Christina Wolfson, and Susan Kirkland. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the authors' own and do not reflect the views of the CLSA. An earlier report of this was presented by Natalie A. Phillips and Paul Mick, "Hearing, Seeing, and Thinking: The cross-sectional relationship between sensory status and cognitive function in CLSA participants." Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging Webinar Series. September 12, 2019. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRugEF0ZDUw&feature=youtu.be.Access to the statistical code to replicate these analyses can be found at https://osf.io/e8n3z/?view_only=635f457e6df045adbd43ee2baece8f11.

Sex-Specific Interactions Between Hearing and Memory in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Findings From the COMPASS-ND Study

“…This structural model remained significant when accounting for sex and did not differ between males and females. Another study by Phillips et al (2022) similarly observed an association between hearing and cognition but no interaction with sex in a national Canadian sample. In contrast, Helzner et al (2005) noted that lower scores on a modified version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE, Folstein et al 1975) were associated with a higher risk of pure-tone HL, and that this risk was significantly elevated in Black females relative to individuals of other sexes/races.…”

ENHANCE: a comparative prospective longitudinal study of cognitive outcomes after 3 years of hearing aid use in older adults

“…The body of evidence on the effects of HA use on cognitive decline is growing, with many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggesting that HA use is associated with better cognitive performance ( Deal et al, 2015 ; Castiglione et al, 2016 ; Karawani et al, 2018 ; Sarant et al, 2020 ). However, conflicting outcomes are reported, both in terms of which cognitive functions improve (e.g., significant improvement has been reported for executive function in two studies; Castiglione et al, 2016 ; Sarant et al, 2020 ) but not in a third ( Phillips et al, 2022 ) and in terms of overall outcomes, with several studies finding no association between HA use and improved cognitive performance ( Valentijn et al, 2005 ; van Hooren et al, 2005 ; Lin et al, 2013 ). As mentioned earlier, recent systematic reviews ( Sanders et al, 2021 ; Yang et al, 2022 ; Yeo et al, 2022 ) have disagreed on the effect of HA use on cognition, and the World Health Organization (WHO) currently rates the quality of the current evidence as ‘very low’, with current WHO guidelines for risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia stating ‘there is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of HAs to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and/or dementia’ ( WHO, 2019 ).…”

Hearing Impairment and Cognitive Function: Mediating Role of Social Isolation and Depression

“…While these hypotheses provide plausible explanation, further studies are needed to validate the mechanisms linking hearing loss and cognitive decline. 33 , 34 …”