Longitudinal Blood Pressure Patterns From Mid- to Late Life and Late-Life Hearing Loss in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Hearing loss is prevalent and associated with adverse functional outcomes in older adults. Prevention thus has far-reaching implications, yet few modifiable risk factors have been identified. Hypertension may contribute to age-related hearing loss, but epidemiologic evidence is mixed. We studied a prospective cohort of 3343 individuals from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, aged 44-65 years at baseline with up to 30 years of follow-up.

METHODS:

Hearing was assessed in late life (2016-2017) using a better-ear audiometric pure tone average (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz) and the Quick Speech-in-Noise (QuickSIN) test. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, or antihypertensive medication use. Midlife hypertension was defined by hypertension at 2 consecutive visits between 1987-1989 and 1996-1998. Late-life hypertension was defined in 2016-2017. Late-life low blood pressure was defined as a systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure less than 60 mmHg, irrespective of antihypertensive medication use. Associations between blood pressure patterns from mid- to late life and hearing outcomes were assessed using multivariable-adjusted linear regression.

RESULTS:

Compared to persistent normotension, persistent hypertension from mid- to late life was associated with worse central auditory processing (difference in QuickSIN score = -0.66 points, 95% CI: -1.14, -0.17) but not with audiometric hearing.

CONCLUSIONS:

Participants with persistent hypertension had poorer late-life central auditory processing. These findings suggest that hypertension may be more strongly related to hearing-related changes in the brain than in the cochlea.

• Authors: James Ting, Kening Jiang, Simo Du, Joshua Betz, Nicholas Reed, Melinda C Power, Rebecca Gottesman, A Richey Sharrett, Michael Griswold, Keenan A Walker, Edgar R Miller, Frank R Lin, Jennifer A Deal
• Journal: The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences (J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci) Vol. 77 Issue 3 Pg. 640-646 (03 03 2022) ISSN: 1758-535X [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 34043799 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].

Chemical References

• Antihypertensive Agents

Topics

• Aged
• Antihypertensive Agents (therapeutic use)
• Atherosclerosis (complications, epidemiology)
• Blood Pressure
• Hearing Loss (complications, epidemiology)
• Humans
• Hypertension (complications)
• Prospective Studies