Voice changes may signal higher future risk of dementia, study finds
A large study links voice disorders, with or without hearing loss, to an increased chance of later dementia or cognitive decline.
A team at Drexel University College of Medicine analyzed data from 833,417 participants aged 50-plus to explore connections between vocal problems and later cognitive decline. They found that people diagnosed with a voice disorder were more likely to develop dementia or other cognitive impairments, and the risk more than doubled when hearing loss was also present. Overall, voice disorders raised the dementia risk by 29%, while hearing loss alone increased it by 27%.
The researchers suggest that treating voice issues might help maintain social engagement, which supports brain health. However, they caution that a voice disorder does not guarantee future cognitive problems.
Why it matters
Early detection of dementia risk could enable preventive actions and improve brain health outcomes.
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