2021 Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 269-276
In this study, we examined the relationship between cognitive function and hearing impairment or balance disability in a community-dwelling population. The subjects were volunteers who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) assessment tool. The subjects underwent hearing tests by pure tone audiometry and balance tests by static posturography. We found significant correlations between high MMSE scores and hearing thresholds at 1, 2, and 4 kHz, Furthermore, the MMSE score was significantly associated with path length with eyes open or closed in male subjects, indicating that in males, the longer the path length with eyes open and closed, the lower the MMSE score. In this study, we investigated the association between balance ability and early cognitive decline before dementia in a general population. We found that static posturography might be a useful balance test to assess early cognitive decline in males.
