Introduction: Beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaque deposition is a biomarker of preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). Impairments in sensory function are associated with cognitive decline. We sought to investigate the relationship between PET-indicated Aβ deposition and sensory impairment.
Methods: Using data from 174 participants ≥55 years in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, we analyzed associations between sensory impairments and Aβ deposition measured by PET and Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) mean cortical distribution volume ratio (cDVR).
Results: The combinations of hearing and proprioceptive impairment and hearing, vision, and proprioceptive impairment, were positively correlated with cDVR (β = 0.087 and p = 0.036, β = 0.110 and p = 0.018, respectively). In stratified analyses of PiB+ participants, combinations of two, three, and four sensory impairments (all involving proprioception) were associated with higher cDVR.
Discussion: Our findings suggest a relationship between multi-sensory impairment (notably proprioceptive impairment) and Aβ deposition, which could reflect sensory impairment as an indicator or potentially a risk factor for Aβ deposition.
Keywords: Alzheimer disease; beta‐amyloid; hearing impairment; positron‐emission tomography; proprioceptive disorders; vestibular deficiency; visual impairment.
© 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.