Pure tone audiometry and cerebral pathology in healthy older adults. Issue 2 (7th November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Parker, Thomas; Cash, David M; Lane, Chris; Lu, Kirsty; Malone, Ian B; Nicholas, Jennifer M; James, Sarah; Keshavan, Ashvini; Murray-Smith, Heidi; Wong, Andrew; Buchannan, Sarah; Keuss, Sarah; Sudre, Carole H; Thomas, David; Crutch, Sebastian; Bamiou, Doris-Eva; Warren, Jason D; Fox, Nick C; Richards, Marcus; Schott, Jonathan M
• Is Part Of: Journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry. Volume 91:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 172
• Page End: 176
• Publication Date: 2019-11-07
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease -- amyloid -- cognition -- image analysis -- vascular dementia; Neurology -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; 616.8
• DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2019-321897
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-3050

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Hearing impairment may be a modifiable risk factor for dementia. However, it is unclear how hearing associates with pathologies relevant to dementia in preclinical populations. Methods: Data from 368 cognitively healthy individuals born during 1 week in 1946 (age range 69.2–71.9 years), who underwent structural MRI, 18 F-florbetapir positron emission tomography, pure tone audiometry and cognitive testing as part of a neuroscience substudy the MRC National Survey of Health and Development were analysed. The aim of the analysis was to investigate whether pure tone audiometry performance predicted a range of cognitive and imaging outcomes relevant to dementia in older adults. Results: There was some evidence that poorer pure tone audiometry performance was associated with lower primary auditory cortex thickness, but no evidence that it predicted in vivo β-amyloid deposition, white matter hyperintensity volume, hippocampal volume or Alzheimer's disease-pattern cortical thickness. A negative association between pure tone audiometry and mini-mental state examination score was observed, but this was no longer evident after excluding a test item assessing repetition of a single phrase. Conclusion: Pure tone audiometry performance did not predict concurrent β-amyloid deposition, small vessel disease or Alzheimer's disease-pattern neurodegeneration, and had limited impact on cognitive function, in healthy adults aged approximately 70 years.