Familial and Birth Cohort Effects on the Aging Senses

描述（由研究者提供）：这项拟议的流行病学研究的目的是测量听力损失流行病学研究（EHLS; AG11099）参与者后代中年龄相关感觉障碍（听力、视觉、嗅觉）和亚临床疾病（白内障和年龄相关黄斑病变）的患病率，以确定亚临床血管疾病与感觉障碍的关联，并评估出生队列和家族对感觉障碍的影响。本研究将以EHLS和Beaver Dam眼科研究（EY06594）的贡献为基础。EHLS参与者的后代将有资格参加本研究。他们（n=5977）将使用与父母研究相同的标准化方案进行检查。检查将包括听力评估（耳镜检查、筛选鼓室测量、听力测量、单词识别和二分聆听测试、失真产品耳声发射）、眼睛检查（屈光、视力测量、对比灵敏度、调节幅度以及晶状体和视网膜的数字图像）、嗅觉测试（圣地亚哥气味识别测试）、血管测量（b型颈动脉超声确定内膜-内侧厚度）、踝臂指数、血压，视网膜小静脉比，脉搏波速度)。

DESCRIPTION (provided by investigator): The purpose of this proposed epidemiologic study is to measure the prevalence of age-related sensory impairments (hearing, vision, olfaction) and subclinical disorders (cataract and age-related maculopathy) in the offspring of participants in the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (EHLS; AG11099), to determine the association of subclinical vascular disease with sensory disorders and to evaluate birth cohort and familial effects on sensory impairments. This study will build on the contributions of the EHLS and the Beaver Dam Eye Study (EY06594). Offspring of EHLS participants will be eligible for this study. They (n=5977) will be examined using the same standardized protocols used in the parent studies. The examination will include a hearing evaluation (otoscopy, screening tympanometry, audiometry, word recognition and dichotic listening tests, distortion product otoacoustic emissions), eye examination (refraction, visual acuity measures, contrast sensitivity, amplitude of accommodation, and digital images of the lens and retina), olfaction testing (San Diego Odor Identification Test), and vascular measures (B-mode carotid ultrasound to determine intima-medial thickness), ankle-brachial index, blood pressure, retinal arteriolar-venular ratio, and pulse wave velocity). This epidemiologic cohort study will provide new epidemiologic data on the prevalence of sensory impairments, sensory disorders, and subclinical atherosclerosis in the post-war "baby-boomer" generation. With the vast changes in lifestyles and exposures experienced by the post-WWll cohort compared to earlier generations, it is important to ascertain whether there are birth cohort differences in risk of sensory disorders for the post-WWII generation and to identify factors contributing to the risk differentials. These data are needed to help adequately prepare to meet the health care needs of the future generation of the elderly. In addition, the existing data from the parent population will be used with the new cohort's data to evaluate the familial aggregation of sensory disorders and sensory co-morbidity to determine the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors. There will be an expected 2066 nuclear families representing 5946 sibpairs and 350 extended families (including aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins) available for these analyses. These data will provide important new information on the risks of age-related sensory disorders and are essential for planning prevention programs to improve quality of life for the 80 million aging children born between 1946-1964.