ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuroepidemiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1533821
Association between tinnitus and cognitive impairment: Analysis of national health and nutrition examination survey 2011:2014
Provisionally accepted
- Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
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background: Tinnitus is one of the most common potential risk factors for cognitive impairment.To understand the relationship between tinnitus and cognitive impairment, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database was analysed after adjusting for potential confounders, including age and other systemic comorbidities. Materials and Methods: A total of 684 participants who had undergone a total tinnitus survey and underwent a cognitive function test were included. Tinnitus is divided into acute tinnitus and non-acute tinnitus. The Consortium for the Establishment of Alzheimer's Disease Word Learning Xi Registry (CERAD-WL), the Dynamic Logistics Proficiency Test (AFT), and the Digit Sign Substitution Test (DSST) were used to assess cognitive impairment. Results: Subjects with tinnitus had lower AFT and DSST scores compared to the healthy group, indicating decreased cognitive function. After adjusting for other covariates in humans, tinnitus was significantly associated with a decrease in AFT and DSST scores (trend p-values =0.02 and 0.005, respectively). Conclusion: Tinnitus is associated with cognitive impairment.
Keywords: cognitive impairment, Cognitive testing, Dementia, Tinnitus, NHANES
Received: 27 Nov 2024; Accepted: 15 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Shi and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chao Wang, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
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