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Martinez-Amezcua P, Garcia Morales E, Gabriel K, Dooley E, Hornikel B, Coresh J, Lin F, Pankow J, Sharrett A, Schrack J, Sullivan K, Reed N, Deal J, Palta P. The Association Between Midlife Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Hearing Loss in Late Life in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2023; 78:1292-1299. [PMID: 36124822 PMCID: PMC10329230 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hearing loss is highly prevalent in older ages and has several health consequences. Some cardiovascular risk factors are associated with worse hearing at older ages. Still, the role of midlife leisure-time physical activity (PA) as a risk factor for hearing loss is yet to be investigated. METHODS Among 3 198 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, we investigated the associations of midlife and change from mid- to late-life PA (assessed via modified Baecke questionnaire) with hearing loss (audiometric battery [worse-ear pure-tone average, and speech-in-noise test]) at older ages. We used regression analyses, adjusted for demographics, medical conditions, and noise exposure, to estimate differences in hearing between those who met and did not meet PA recommendations at midlife and at late life. RESULTS A total of 1 386 (43.3%) participants met PA recommendations at midlife. These participants, compared to those who did not meet recommendations, had lower (better) pure-tone average by 1.51 (0.46, 2.55) decibels, identified 0.37 (0.01, 0.74) more words (better score) in the speech-in-noise test, and had a lower relative risk of having hearing loss at older ages (eg, relative risk ratio for severe hearing loss vs normal hearing = 0.70 [0.52, 0.95]). Similarly, those who persistently met PA recommendations from mid- to late life had, compared with those who did not, a better hearing at older ages. CONCLUSIONS Meeting PA public health recommendations in midlife and mid- to late life was associated with better hearing at older ages and reduced risk of hearing loss. Promoting adequate levels of PA may be an essential component of hearing care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Martinez-Amezcua
- Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Campus, New York, New York, USA
| | - Emmanuel Garcia Morales
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kelley P Gabriel
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Erin E Dooley
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Bjoern Hornikel
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Josef Coresh
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Frank R Lin
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - James S Pankow
- Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - A Richey Sharrett
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jennifer A Schrack
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kevin J Sullivan
- Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi, Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
| | - Nicholas Reed
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jennifer A Deal
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Priya Palta
- Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Campus, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
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