Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Research Team for Human Care, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Laryngoscope. 2022 Apr;132(4):857-863. doi: 10.1002/lary.29898. Epub 2021 Oct 12.
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is considered a risk factor for cognitive impairment and falls. The association may be modulated by gait performance because ARHL is related to mobility decline, which strongly contributes to cognitive impairment and falls. We investigated the interactive effects of gait and ARHL on global cognition and falls among older adults.
Retrospective cohort study.
The auditory acuity of 810 community-dwelling older adults was measured using a pure-tone average of hearing thresholds at 1,000 and 4,000 Hz in the better-hearing ear. Participants were then stratified as follows: normal hearing, ≤25 dB; mild hearing loss (HL), >25 and ≤40 dB; and moderate to severe HL, >40 dB. Gait speed was assessed as an indicator of gait performance and fall occurrence within the previous year. Global cognition was determined using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test.
A total of 320 (39.5%) and 233 (28.8%) participants had mild and moderate to severe HL, respectively. Hierarchical multiple and logistic regression analyses showed interactions between gait performance and moderate hearing loss on both global cognition and the occurrence of falls. Specifically, older adults with moderate hearing loss who walked slowly showed lower MoCA scores and a higher incidence of falls, whereas those with decent gait speed did not show such a tendency.
Our results suggest that poor gait performance might modulate the effects of ARHL, leading to cognitive decline and falls. Poor cognitive performance and falls may be prevalent in older adults with ARHL, especially in those with slower gait and moderate hearing loss.
3 Laryngoscope, 132:857-863, 2022.
年龄相关性听力损失（ARHL）被认为是认知障碍和跌倒的危险因素。这种关联可能受到步态表现的调节，因为 ARHL 与活动能力下降有关，而活动能力下降是认知障碍和跌倒的主要原因。我们研究了步态和 ARHL 对老年人整体认知和跌倒的交互影响。
回顾性队列研究。
使用较好耳的 1000Hz 和 4000Hz 纯音平均听阈评估 810 名社区居住的老年人的听觉敏锐度。然后将参与者分为以下几类：正常听力，≤25dB；轻度听力损失（HL），>25 且≤40dB；中度至重度 HL，>40dB。步态速度作为步态表现和前一年跌倒发生的指标进行评估。使用蒙特利尔认知评估（MoCA）测试确定整体认知能力。
共有 320 名（39.5%）和 233 名（28.8%）参与者分别有轻度和中度至重度 HL。分层多变量和逻辑回归分析显示，步态表现和中度听力损失之间存在交互作用，对整体认知和跌倒发生都有影响。具体来说，中度听力损失且步态缓慢的老年人 MoCA 评分较低，跌倒发生率较高，而步态速度尚可的老年人则没有这种趋势。
我们的结果表明，较差的步态表现可能调节 ARHL 的影响，导致认知能力下降和跌倒。认知能力下降和跌倒可能在 ARHL 老年人中较为普遍，尤其是步态较慢且中度听力损失的老年人。
3.《喉镜》，132：857-863，2022 年。
