APOE- ε 4 is not associated with pure-tone hearing thresholds, visual acuity or cognition, cross-sectionally or over 3 years of follow up in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Introduction: Hearing loss and diminished visual acuity are associated with poorer cognition, but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. The apolipoprotein ( APOE ) e4 allelic variant may drive the associations. We tested whether APOE -e4 allele count (0, 1, or 2) was associated with declines in memory, executive function, pure -tone hearing threshold averages, and pinhole -corrected visual acuity among participants in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Methods: Multivariable linear mixed regression models were utilized to assess associations between APOE -e4 allele count and each of the outcome variables. For each main effects model, interactions between APOE -e4 and sex and age group (45-54-, 55-64-, 65-74-, and 75-85 years) respectively, were analyzed. Results: Significant associations were not observed in main effects models. Models including APOE- e4 * age (but not APOE- e4 * sex) interaction terms better fit the data compared to main effects models. In age group -stratified models, however, there were minimal differences in effect estimates according to allele count. Conclusion: APOE -e4 allele count does not appear to be a common cause of sensory -cognitive associations in this large cohort.