Increased Risk of Dementia Following a Diagnosis of Hearing Impairment: A South Korean Nationwide Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Among the older adults, hearing impairment is a common problem and may contribute to dementia. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between hearing impairment and the risk of dementia among older adults in South Korea. METHODS: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Senior Cohort from 2005 to 2019, we collected data of 44,728 patients. Hearing impairment was determined using the national disability registry. Propensity score matching (11) was performed to match patients with and without hearing impairment (case 22,364, control 22,364). A Cox proportional hazards regression model was built to analyze the association between hearing impairment and dementia. RESULTS: Patients with hearing impairment had a higher risk of dementia than those without hearing impairment (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.23-1.34). Assessing the degree of disability, both severe (HR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.16-1.35) and mild conditions (HR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.23-1.35) had an increased risk of dementia, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Older patients with hearing impairment exhibit an increased risk of dementia, thereby warranting a new approach to dementia care among these patients regardless of the degree of hearing impairment.