Hearing Sensitivity, Cardiovascular Risk, and Neurocognitive Function

Abstract

Key Points Question Is hearing impairment associated with cardiovascular disease risk and cognitive function among Hispanic or Latino participants? Findings In this cohort study of 9623 Hispanic/Latino adults, hearing impairment was associated with poorer cognitive performance on all tasks, and cardiovascular disease risk did not attenuate these relationships. Rather, hearing impairment modified the associations between cardiovascular disease risk and learning and memory; only among individuals with hearing impairment, being identified as having excessively high glucose was associated with poorer learning and memory relative to participants considered healthy individuals. Meaning Hearing impairment may exacerbate the associations between high glucose and poorer cognition, particularly for learning and memory among Hispanic or Latino persons.

Taking the Pulse of Hispanic Hearing Health

“…From a theoretical perspective, these findings are important because there are multiple potential mechanisms underlying the association between hearing loss and cognition. The authors’ interpretation was that the results did not support a sole cardiovascular common cause for the association between hearing impairment and poorer cognition; thus, their findings direct us to look deeper. The detailed analyses in this report suggest that people with both hyperglycemia and hearing impairment demonstrated poorer cognitive functioning on verbal learning and memory tasks than participants without these risk factors.…”

“…The article by Stickel and colleagues fills important gaps in the populations for which we have data on hearing in midlife and also expands the range of health issues that are covered in the same study. Their analysis of the HCHS/SOL data included multiple subgroups of the Hispanic/Latino population (Dominican, Central American, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto-Rican, South American, and Other) and included findings related to hearing loss and its associations with cardiovascular disease and cognition from middle-aged through older adults.…”

“…As explained in the article, the Hispanic/Latino population in the US is projected to have the greatest increase in Alzheimer disease and related dementias over the coming decades. Furthermore, the 2020 report of the Lancet Commission on Dementia identifies hearing loss as the top modifiable risk factor at midlife .…”

“…Furthermore, the 2020 report of the Lancet Commission on Dementia identifies hearing loss as the top modifiable risk factor at midlife . The new finding by Stickel et al that hearing loss is related to cognition in middle age in the Hispanic/Latino population heightens the importance of further research on early intervention for adult-onset hearing loss (ie, at middle age) because it might be able to protect cognitive and neurological function. Making health professionals aware of the relation between hearing and brain health can have considerable implications for prevention, early identification, and treatment.…”

“…We write to highlight implications of the research presented by Stickel and colleagues in, “Hearing sensitivity, cardiovascular risk, and neurocognitive function: Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL).” Stickel et al provide evidence that hearing loss exacerbates the association between cardiovascular disease and cognition for verbal learning and memory among Hispanic/Latino adults aged 45 to 74 years. In this commentary, we implore health care gatekeepers (physicians, audiologists, and other professionals affecting the health care system) to respond to these findings by taking actions to ensure the health of Hispanic/Latino patients.…”