Clinical trial NCT04284384: Hearing Impairment as a Risk Factor for Dementia in Older Adults
Official title: Modifiable Risk Factors and Dementia - A Study Examining the Association Between Hearing Impairment in Mid-life and Cognitive Impairment in the HUNT4 70+ Study
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Dementia
Hearing Loss
Lead sponsor: Norwegian Centre for Ageing and Health
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
name: The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study
name: The Norwegian Institute of Public Health
name: University College London Hospitals
name: University of Oslo
First posted: 2020-02-25
Enrollment: 6952
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 70
Standard ages: OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: HUNT2 and HUNT4 hearing studies: Participants from 17 of the 24 municipalities in the county were offered and accepted a hearing examination, consisting of pure-tone audiometry and two questionnaires on hearing issues, such as use of hearing aids, noise exposure, and tinnitus.

HUNT4 70+/HUNT Trondheim 70+: All participants 70 years of age or older are invited to participate in HUNT4 70+ including cognitive screening examinations.

Brief summary: This Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) project is part of a larger project on potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia in a life course perspective, with an overarching aim to improve prevention of dementia and thereby potentially relieve patient and caregiver distress and decrease societal load. The present PhD project will concentrate on confirming knowledge of HI as an independent risk factor for dementia and exploring potentially causative factors to explain this relationship.

Detailed description: Despite a huge increase in the knowledge about disease mechanisms in various types of dementia in recent years, no curative treatment exists at present. Results from research on disease-modifying agents have been disappointing. This has led to an increased interest in other ways to reduce the prevalence of dementia. A recent report estimated that up to one third of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented by interventions directed at the most common risk factors. In the "Lancet commission on dementia prevention, treatment, and care", hearing impairment (HI) was identified as the potentially most important modifiable risk factor. Even though HI is considered an important modifiable risk factor, the evidence regarding the association between HI and dementia risk is still limited.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Living in designated area

Exclusion Criteria:

* None

Primary outcomes:
measure: Rate of dementia diagnosis in the HUNT 70+ study
timeFrame: 2017-2019
measure: Rate of Minimal Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in the HUNT 70+ study
timeFrame: 2017-2019
measure: Rate of cognitive impairment defined as age- and education-adjusted thresholds on cognitive assessments scales
timeFrame: 2017-2019
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Tønsberg
country: Norway
facility: Norwegian National Advisory Unit of Ageing and Health
Study officials:
affiliation: Norwegian Centre for Ageing and Health
name: Geir Selbæk, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: GjOra L, Strand BH, Bergh S, Borza T, Braekhus A, Engedal K, Johannessen A, Kvello-Alme M, Krokstad S, Livingston G, Matthews FE, Myrstad C, Skjellegrind H, Thingstad P, Aakhus E, Aam S, Selbaek G. Current and Future Prevalence Estimates of Mild Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, and Its Subtypes in a Population-Based Sample of People 70 Years and Older in Norway: The HUNT Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2021;79(3):1213-1226. doi: 10.3233/JAD-201275.