Regional Pattern of Dementia and Prevalence of Hearing Impairment in Germany
- Autores: Stefan J. Teipel, Thomas Fritze, Attila Ovari, Anne Buhr, Ingo Kilimann, Gabriele Witt, Hans Wilhelm Pau -, Gabriele Doblhammer
- Localización: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, ISSN 0002-8614, Vol. 63, Nº. 8, 2015, págs. 1527-1533
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
Objectives To determine the association between hearing impairment and dementia.
Design Cross-sectional study.
Setting Claims data of the Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse, the largest public health insurance company in Germany.
Participants Age-stratified sample of all insured persons aged 65 and above in the first quarter of 2007 (N = 1,338,462).
Measurements Metaregression analysis on the association between regional prevalence of dementia and hearing impairment controlled for major vascular risk factors, including hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, and cerebrovascular disease. Dementia and hearing impairment diagnoses were defined according to International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes. Ninety-five regions were distinguished according to the two-digit postal code of the place of residence.
Results A significant association was found between regional prevalences of dementia and hearing impairment that was preserved when controlling for major vascular risk factors (P = .003). Regional dementia prevalence increased by approximately 0.23% when the prevalence of hearing impairment increased by 1 standard deviation.
Conclusion The relationship between hearing impairment and dementia has been repeatedly demonstrated on the individual level. The results of the current study confirm that this relationship also exists on a regional level. These findings underscore the potential role of hearing impairment as a risk factor for dementia that will be relevant for the management of elderly patients in general practice.
