Psychiatric risk with dizziness and cognitive decline in patients with sensorineural hearing loss

Objective To explore the incidence of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder in patients aged 50 years or older after a new diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Design Retrospective cohort study with primary outcome of cumulative incidence of any disorder within a 72-month follow-up period. Cox regression model adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with the time-dependent exposures of dizziness and cognitive decline were used for statistical analysis. Study sample The sample consisted of 43,755 patients in a Midwest U.S. electronic health record database from January 2018 to June 2024 with diagnosis codes for SNHL in patients 50 years and older with no prior diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Results Patients with dizziness and cognitive decline had a significantly reduced risk of developing depression (aHR = 0.813, 95% CI [0.676, 0.979], and p = 0.0286) and anxiety (aHR = 0.734, 95% CI [0.612, 0.880], and p = 0.0008) compared to controls. For depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, having only one exposure was associated with an increased incidence of the outcome conditions. Conclusion Our study describes an inverse association between the incidence of depression or anxiety and the combined presence of dizziness and cognitive decline in the adult SNHL population. Future research may explore these exposures' interactions to determine avenues for improved patient-centered psychiatric outcomes in this population.