TY - JOUR

T1 - Speech-in-noise hearing impairment is associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s

T2 - A UK Biobank analysis

AU - Readman, Megan

AU - Wang, Yang

AU - Wan, Fang

AU - Fairman, Ian

AU - Linkenauger, Sally

AU - Crawford, Trevor

AU - Plack, Christopher

PY - 2025/2/28

Y1 - 2025/2/28

N2 - BackgroundHearing impairment is implicated as a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (Parkinson's) incidence, with evidence suggesting that clinically diagnosed hearing loss increases Parkinson's risk 1.5–1.6 fold over 2–5 years follow up. However, the evidence is not unanimous with additional studies observing that self-reported hearing capabilities do not significantly influence Parkinson's incidence. Thus, additional cohort analyses that draw on alternative auditory measures are required to further corroborate the link between Parkinson's and hearing impairment.ObjectivesTo determine whether hearing impairment, estimated using a speech-in-noise test (the Digit Triplet Test, DTT), is a risk factor for Parkinson's incidence.MethodsThis was a pre-registered prospective cohort study using data from the UK Biobank. Data pertaining to 159,395 individuals, who underwent DTT testing and were free from Parkinson's at the point of assessment, were analysed. A Cox Proportional Hazard model, controlling for age, sex and educational attainment was conducted.ResultsDuring a median follow up of 14.24 years, 810 cases of probable Parkinson's were observed. The risk of incident Parkinson's increased with baseline hearing impairment [hazard ratio: 1.57 (95%CI: 1.018, 2.435; P = .041)], indicating 57 % increase in risk for every 10 dB increase in speech-reception threshold (SRT). However, when hearing impairment was categorised in accordance with UK Biobank SRT norms neither ‘Insufficient’ nor ‘Poor’ hearing significantly influenced Parkinson's risk compared to ‘Normal’ hearing.ConclusionsThe congruence of these findings with prior research further supports the existence of a relationship between hearing impairment and Parkinson's incidence.

AB - BackgroundHearing impairment is implicated as a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (Parkinson's) incidence, with evidence suggesting that clinically diagnosed hearing loss increases Parkinson's risk 1.5–1.6 fold over 2–5 years follow up. However, the evidence is not unanimous with additional studies observing that self-reported hearing capabilities do not significantly influence Parkinson's incidence. Thus, additional cohort analyses that draw on alternative auditory measures are required to further corroborate the link between Parkinson's and hearing impairment.ObjectivesTo determine whether hearing impairment, estimated using a speech-in-noise test (the Digit Triplet Test, DTT), is a risk factor for Parkinson's incidence.MethodsThis was a pre-registered prospective cohort study using data from the UK Biobank. Data pertaining to 159,395 individuals, who underwent DTT testing and were free from Parkinson's at the point of assessment, were analysed. A Cox Proportional Hazard model, controlling for age, sex and educational attainment was conducted.ResultsDuring a median follow up of 14.24 years, 810 cases of probable Parkinson's were observed. The risk of incident Parkinson's increased with baseline hearing impairment [hazard ratio: 1.57 (95%CI: 1.018, 2.435; P = .041)], indicating 57 % increase in risk for every 10 dB increase in speech-reception threshold (SRT). However, when hearing impairment was categorised in accordance with UK Biobank SRT norms neither ‘Insufficient’ nor ‘Poor’ hearing significantly influenced Parkinson's risk compared to ‘Normal’ hearing.ConclusionsThe congruence of these findings with prior research further supports the existence of a relationship between hearing impairment and Parkinson's incidence.

U2 - 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2024.107219

DO - 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2024.107219

M3 - Journal article

VL - 131

JO - Parkinsonism & Related Disorders

JF - Parkinsonism & Related Disorders

SN - 1353-8020

M1 - 107219

ER -