Dementia: Dr Sara on benefits of being in nature
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One risk factor, pointed out by researchers from the University of Oxford, has now been associated with a 91 percent increased risk of dementia. What is it? Growing evidence points towards hearing loss being a key factor in the development of dementia. “A major component of hearing impairment is difficulty hearing speech in noisy environments (speech-in-noise hearing impairment),” the researchers noted.
“This can have a large impact on the day-to-day functioning of affected individuals who can struggle to follow conversations or hear announcements in noisy environments.”
For their research project, participants were selected from the UK Biobank.
More than 82,000 women and men aged 60 and older participated in the study.
At the beginning of the research, they were asked to identify spoken numbers against a background of white noise.
From this test, they were grouped into three categories:
- Normal hearing
- Insufficient hearing
- Poor speech-in-noise hearing.
In an 11-year follow-up period, 1,285 participants were identified as developing dementia based on hospital inpatient and death register records.
The study’s results
Insufficient hearing was associated with a 61 percent increased risk of developing dementia compared to normal speech-in-noise hearing.
Meanwhile, poor speech-in-noise hearing was associated with a 91 percent increased risk of developing dementia compared to normal speech-in-noise hearing.
Dr Thomas Littlejohns, the senior author of the study, commented on the results.
“Dementia affects millions of individuals worldwide, with the number of cases projected to treble in the next few decades.
“However, there is growing evidence that developing dementia is not inevitable and that the risk could be reduced by treating pre-existing conditions.
“While preliminary, these results suggest speech-in-noise hearing impairment could represent a promising target for dementia prevention.”
Co-author, Dr Jonathan Stevenson added: “Difficulty hearing speech in background noise is one of the most common problems for people with age-related hearing impairment.
“This is the first study to investigate its association with dementia in a large population.”
Research suggests that hearing impairment can lead to social isolation and depression, which are risk factors for dementia.
Am I losing my hearing?
You can have your testing tested for free at some opticians and pharmacies.
If you do have a hearing problem, getting a hearing aid would be beneficial.
The NHS elaborated: “These will not make your hearing perfect, but they make sounds louder and clearer.
“Some people may need a hearing implant. These are devices that are attached to your skull or placed deep inside your ear.”
The research study was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
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