Voice disorders could be associated with an elevated risk of dementia and may serve as an earlier, stronger warning sign than hearing loss alone, researchers suggest.
WASHINGTON — Changes in a person’s voice may be connected to a greater likelihood of developing dementia, according to new research.
The study, published in the Journal of Voice, found that adults with clinically diagnosed voice disorders faced a significantly higher risk of cognitive decline. Researchers said voice problems may prove to be a more powerful early dementia biomarker than hearing loss by itself.
Researchers analyzed primary care data from more than 833,000 adults age 50 and older. People diagnosed with both hearing problems and voice disorders had twice the risk of cognitive decline or dementia compared with those who had neither condition.
Notably, adults with a voice disorder but no hearing loss had a dementia risk 26.1% higher than people with hearing loss alone.
“If you have a voice disorder that impacts how your voice sounds or if it’s painful when you attempt to talk or sing, it’s only natural to participate less often in brain-supporting social or other engaging activities,” senior author Dr. Robert Sataloff, a professor and chair in Drexel’s College of Medicine, said in a statement. “We already see this in patients with Parkinson’s disease, in which voice disorders often precede other physical signs of the disease.”
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The findings do not contradict earlier research connecting hearing loss to dementia, the authors said. Hearing loss remains the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia, and the study found it was associated with a 26.1% increase in cognitive decline compared with the control group.
The research does not show that voice disorders cause dementia. Still, Sataloff said the connection may offer clinicians another chance to identify people who could benefit from earlier cognitive screening.
“Our work shows that voice disorders may be an earlier and stronger sign of cognitive decline than hearing loss alone,” Sataloff said. “We found the strongest link with dementia among patients experiencing a voice disorder and hearing loss; but importantly, we found that those with a voice disorder and no hearing loss were at greater risk than patients who experience hearing loss only. It may be valuable for many of these patients to talk with an otolaryngologist who can arrange a cognitive assessment to help patients develop an appropriate care plan.”
An estimated 17.9 million U.S. adults reported a voice problem during the past year, according to the National Institutes of Health. About 9.4 million said the issue lasted at least a week.
Researchers said that those with voice disorders and hearing loss were also older and experienced higher rates of cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.