Voice Disorders Linked to Elevated Risk for Incident Cognitive Decline

MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Voice disorders are associated with an elevated risk for incident cognitive decline, according to a study published online Aug. 11 in the Journal of Voice.

Anthony G. Russo, from the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and colleagues examined the potential association between diagnosed voice disorders and incident cognitive decline in a study involving 833,417 patients in a voice disorder cohort and control cohort.

The researchers found that compared with control, voice disorders were associated with a significantly elevated risk for incident cognitive decline (hazard ratio, 1.291). A slightly lower risk for cognitive decline was seen in association with hearing loss alone (hazard ratio, 1.267). Compared with hearing loss alone, voice disorders without concurrent hearing loss were associated with an elevated risk for incident cognitive decline (hazard ratio, 1.261), while the highest risk among all cohorts was seen for voice disorders with hearing loss (hazard ratio, 2.038 versus controls; hazard ratio, 1.545 versus hearing loss). No significant difference was seen between the voice disorder subgroups.

“Our work shows that voice disorders may be an earlier and stronger sign of cognitive decline than hearing loss alone,” senior author Robert T. Sataloff, M.D., also from Drexel University, said in a statement. “We found the strongest link with dementia among patients experiencing a voice disorder and hearing loss; but importantly, we found that those with a voice disorder and no hearing loss were at greater risk than patients who experience hearing loss only.”

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