Figure 2.

Multivariable-adjusted association between PTA and incident dementia, Health ABC Study, N = 1,889, 1999–2008. HR of incident dementia associated with PTA (in dBHL) when modeled continuously using penalized splines (used to allow for smooth, nonlinear effects in regression models). Adjusted for age (year), sex, race, education (less than high school/highs school/postsecondary), study site (Memphis or Pittsburgh), smoking status (never/former/current), hypertension, diabetes, and history of stroke. dBHL = decibels hearing level; Health ABC = Health, Aging and Body Composition; HI = hearing impairment; HR: hazard ratio; PTA, pure-tone average.