Table_1_Hearing Loss and Cognition Among Older Adults in a Han Chinese Cohort.DOCX

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.

早老性耳聋（PC）与认知功能下降及痴呆症的发生密切相关。语音接收阈值（SRT）被用于评估语音检测，这指向了PC的中心成分。然而，据我们所知，迄今为止尚无研究报道SRT与老年汉族人群认知功能之间的关系。因此，本研究旨在通过使用标准化的神经认知电池，探究使用纯音听阈平均值（PTA）和SRT衡量的听力损失与汉族老年人群认知功能之间的关联。招募了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神经心理学和听觉测试。根据较好耳的PTA，受试者被进一步分为PC组和正常PTA（NP）组。通过回归分析，在控制年龄、性别、教育水平、糖尿病、吸烟和高血压的情况下，考察了认知功能与听力损失在PC组和NP组以及所有受试者中的关系。在所有受试者中，非言语认知分数与SRT之间的相关性均强于与非言语认知分数与PTA之间的相关性，而言语认知分数与PTA之间的相关性则强于与SRT之间的相关性。此外，PC组PTA或SRT与认知功能的相关性原则上强于NP组。我们的研究结果指出，认知功能与汉族老年人群的PTA和SRT显著相关。因此，SRT可能成为探索PC中认知功能下降的重要听觉测试，并且能够补充PTA。