Voice disorders were linked to a higher risk of later cognitive decline in a large health-record study
Original source
Voice Disorders as Early Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline. (opens in a new tab)Compass summarised this from the study's abstract.
Study details
- Studied in
- Human
Population inferred from the title and abstract by Compass.
People diagnosed with voice disorders had a higher risk of incident cognitive decline than matched controls in a study of 833,417 patients. The association was also seen when voice disorders were compared with hearing loss alone, and was strongest when both conditions were present. The study included amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among neurological conditions previously associated with voice changes, but it did not test voice disorders as a cognitive biomarker specifically in people with ALS.
Why this matters
Voice problems may be a possible point at which clinicians consider cognitive assessment, according to the study. This does not show that voice treatment prevents cognitive decline, or that the finding changes ALS treatment. Further research would be needed to test whether the association applies to people with ALS and whether treating voice disorders affects cognition.
Limitations and context
This was an observational analysis of diagnosed conditions in the TriNetX US Collaborative Health Network, so it shows an association rather than causation. The source does not provide detailed information here about the participants’ ages, disease causes, follow-up methods, or how cognitive decline and voice disorders were diagnosed. The study was not an ALS-specific study, and its authors said the possible cognitive benefits of early voice treatment still need investigation.