Ren Fuxin, Luo Jianfen, Ma Wen, Xin Qian, Xu Lei, Fan Zhaomin, Ai Yu, Zhao Bin, Gao Fei, Wang Haibo
Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shandong Provincial ENT Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Front Neurosci. 2019 Jun 25;13:632. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00632. eCollection 2019.
Presbycusis (PC) is associated with cognitive decline and incident dementia. Speech reception thresholds (SRT) are used to assess speech detection, which points toward a central component of PC. However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous study has reported the relationship between SRT and cognitive function in older adults in a Han Chinese cohort. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the association of hearing loss, indexed using pure tone average (PTA) and SRT, with cognitive function in a Han Chinese cohort using a standardized neurocognitive battery. Subjects (aged ≥60 years) with no history of psychiatric or neurological diseases were recruited. All subjects underwent a battery of neuropsychological and auditory tests. According to the PTA of the better ear, the subjects were further divided into PC and normal PTA (NP) groups. Regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between cognitive function and hearing loss in the PC and NP groups and all subjects when controlling for age, sex, education level, diabetes, smoking, and hypertension. Cognitive function was significantly associated with PTA and SRT in all subjects. In all subjects, the correlations between non-verbal cognitive scores and SRT were stronger than those between non-verbal cognitive scores and PTA, whereas the correlations between verbal cognitive scores and PTA were stronger than those between verbal cognitive scores and SRT. Moreover, the correlations between PTA or SRT and cognitive function in the PC group were in principle stronger than those in the NP group. Our findings indicate that cognitive function is significantly associated with PTA and SRT in older adults in a Han Chinese cohort. Therefore, SRT could be an important auditory test for exploring cognitive decline in PC and could complement PTA.
老年性聋（PC）与认知功能减退和新发痴呆有关。言语接受阈值（SRT）用于评估言语察觉，这指向了老年性聋的一个核心组成部分。然而，据我们所知，此前尚无研究报道过汉族老年人群中SRT与认知功能之间的关系。因此，在本研究中，我们使用标准化神经认知测试组，调查了以纯音平均听阈（PTA）和SRT为指标的听力损失与汉族老年人群认知功能之间的关联。招募无精神或神经疾病史的受试者（年龄≥60岁）。所有受试者均接受了一系列神经心理学和听觉测试。根据较好耳的PTA，将受试者进一步分为老年性聋组和正常PTA（NP）组。在控制年龄、性别、教育水平、糖尿病、吸烟和高血压的情况下，进行回归分析以检验PC组、NP组以及所有受试者的认知功能与听力损失之间的关系。在所有受试者中，认知功能与PTA和SRT均显著相关。在所有受试者中，非言语认知得分与SRT之间的相关性强于非言语认知得分与PTA之间的相关性，而言语认知得分与PTA之间的相关性强于言语认知得分与SRT之间的相关性。此外，PC组中PTA或SRT与认知功能之间的相关性原则上强于NP组。我们的研究结果表明，在汉族老年人群中，认知功能与PTA和SRT显著相关。因此，SRT可能是探索老年性聋认知功能减退的一项重要听觉测试，并且可以补充PTA。
