Visual and Auditory Sensory Impairments Differentially Relate with Alzheimer’s Pathology
Gihwan Byeon1, Min Soo Byun2,3, Dahyun Yi4, Joon Hyung Jung5, Nayeong Kong2, Yoonyoung Chang2, MUSUNG KEUM2, Gijung Jung4, Hyejin Ahn4, Jun-Young Lee6, Yu Kyeong Kim7, Koung Mi Kang8, Chul-Ho Sohn8, Dong Young Lee2,3,4; for the KBASE Research Group
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Korea
2Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
4Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea
5Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Korea
6Department of Neuropsychiatry, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
7Department of Nuclear Medicine, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
8Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
Correspondence to: Dong Young Lee
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital & Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Korea
E-mail: selfpsy@snu.ac.kr
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8976-8320
Received: January 24, 2024; Revised: May 18, 2024; Accepted: June 25, 2024; Published online: August 16, 2024.
© The Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology. All rights reserved.

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Abstract
Objective: We intended to investigate the relationships between visual sensory impairment (VSI) or auditory sensory impairment (ASI) and brain pathological changes associated with cognitive decline in older adults.
Methods: We primarily tried to examine whether each sensory impairment is related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology, specifically beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposition, through both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Self-report questionnaires on vision and hearing status were administered at the baseline. Neuroimaging scans including brain [11C] Pittsburgh Compound B PET and MRI, as well as clinical assessments, were performed at baseline and 2-year follow-up.
Results: Cross-sectional analyses showed that the VSI-positive group had significantly higher Aβ deposition than the VSI-negative group, whereas there was no significant association between ASI positivity and Aβ deposition. Longitudinal analyses revealed that VSI positivity at baseline was significantly associated with increased Aβ deposition over 2 years (β = 0.153, p = 0.025), although ASI positivity was not (β = 0.045, p = 0.518). VSI positivity at baseline was also significantly associated with greater atrophic changes in AD-related brain regions over the 2-year follow-up period (β = −0.207, p = 0.005), whereas ASI positivity was not (β = 0.024, p = 0.753). Neither VSI nor ASI positivity was related to cerebrovascular injury, as measured based on the white matter hyperintensity volume.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that VSI is probably related to AD-specific pathological changes, which possibly mediate the reported relationship between VSI and cognitive decline. In contrast, ASI appears not associated with AD pathologies but may contribute to cognitive decline via other mechanisms.
Keywords: Dementia; Sensation disorders; Alzheimer disease; Amyloid

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