Welcome to the latest Ageing Runner reading recommendation. You can see a full list here. To keep across the latest research on running and ageing subscribe to the Ageing Runner newsletter here. Happy running – Chris.
Ageing Runner is just over a week old and my mind has been a whirl of ideas and ways forward. I have made a lot of notes and read a lot of blogs and articles. I know the importance of reading more than I write. It is hard to know where to begin.
But…one article has hit home with me. I keep coming back to it and has already led to me making a simple change that may impact on my likelihood of running as I get older.
Emily Dixon writing in the Sunday Times (16.07.23) reported on a recent study (Jiang et al., 2023) into a causal link between hearing loss and dementia. The article states that there around 900,000 UK residents living with dementia whilst the worldwide total is around 55 million with close to 10 million new cases each year. It also cites dementia as the biggest killer in the UK. I needed to dig into that further.
It led me to the main source in the Lancet and a search for other recent articles in the field. Jiang et al.’s (2023) analysis used data from 437704 people drawn from the UK Biobank, a population-based cohort study which recruited adults aged 40-69 years between 2006 and 2010. The study postulates that 8% of dementia cases could be prevented with proper hearing loss management.
Gill Livingston and Sergi Costafreda (also in the Lancet) cite this as one of 4 recent studies which show that hearing loss from midlife onwards is a risk factor for dementia. Findings also indicate that wearing an aid reduces this risk to the same level as those without hearing loss.
We have to treat such findings with caution. Both recruitment and reporting make judgments on causality complex. Livingston and Costafredi describe as possibly ‘spurious’, the finding of an ‘enormous (48%) protective effect of hearing aids on cognition’ as a finding of the longitudinal ACHIEVE trial by Frank Lin and colleagues (2023). However, despite thinking that more work is needed, they also find the results of the study hopeful and that hearing aids really could make a difference to those at risk of dementia.
So…what does that mean for me as an ageing runner?
If I am to run into my later years, I am going to need to reduce my own risk of succumbing to debilitating disease. Despite ongoing debates around causality, it seems sensible to get a regular hearing test. What seems undisputed is that hearing loss can lead to increased isolation and depression. Both risk factors in decline.
Last summer, I was struggling with the hearing in my right ear and booked a test. I was turned away as my ear was clogged with wax and the test could not be carried out. I had the wax removed but did not rebook the test. In my quest to be a successful runner as I get older, I had no idea that the first thing that would come up would be a hearing test. Such a simple thing. I have procrastinated too long. I am booking a test when the clinic opens tomorrow morning. (Update – I have now been and done that – moderate loss in both ears. I may need hearing aids. Such a simple thing to do)
The plan is for Ageing Runner to become a community where we explore running and ageing together.
I would love to hear your thoughts, worries and words of wisdom.
We run, we chat, we smile.
Chris
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