School of Allied Health Sciences, Kitasato University, 1-15-1 Kitazato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara 252-0373, Japan.
Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, 1-15-1 Kitazato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara 252-0373, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Mar 2;20(5):4437. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054437.
Hearing impairment and frailty are associated with cognitive decline in older people. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the interaction between hearing impairment and frailty on cognitive decline in community-dwelling older people. A mail survey of community-dwelling, older people (age ≥ 65 years) who lived independently was conducted. Cognitive decline was defined using the self-administered dementia checklist (≥18 out of 40 points). Hearing impairment was assessed using a validated self-rated questionnaire. Furthermore, frailty was assessed using the Kihon checklist, and robust, pre-frailty, and frailty groups were identified. Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for potential confounding factors, was performed to determine the association of the interaction between hearing impairment and frailty with cognitive decline. Data obtained from 464 participants were analyzed. Hearing impairment was independently associated with cognitive decline. Additionally, the interaction term of hearing impairment and frailty was significantly related to cognitive decline. For participants in the robust group, hearing impairment was not associated with cognitive decline. In contrast, for participants in the pre-frailty or frailty groups, hearing impairment was associated with cognitive decline. The association between hearing impairment and cognitive decline was affected by frailty status in community-dwelling, older people.
听力障碍和虚弱与老年人认知能力下降有关。本研究旨在探讨听力障碍和虚弱之间相互作用对社区居住的老年人认知能力下降的影响。采用邮件调查的方式，对居住在社区、能独立生活的老年人（年龄≥65 岁）进行了调查。认知能力下降的定义是使用自我管理的痴呆症检查表（≥40 分中的 18 分）。听力障碍使用经过验证的自我评估问卷进行评估。此外，使用 Kihon 检查表评估虚弱，确定稳健、衰弱前期和衰弱组。进行多变量逻辑回归分析，调整潜在的混杂因素，以确定听力障碍和虚弱之间相互作用与认知能力下降的关系。对 464 名参与者的数据进行了分析。听力障碍与认知能力下降独立相关。此外，听力障碍和虚弱之间的交互项与认知能力下降显著相关。对于稳健组的参与者，听力障碍与认知能力下降无关。相比之下，对于衰弱前期或衰弱组的参与者，听力障碍与认知能力下降有关。听力障碍与认知能力下降之间的关系受社区居住的老年人虚弱状态的影响。
