ACHIEVE Brain Health Follow-Up Study

NCT ID: NCT05532657

Last Updated: 2025-11-10

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE3

Total Enrollment

629 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-01-12

Study Completion Date

2026-06-30

Brief Summary

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The ACHIEVE Brain Health Follow-Up Study is a 3-year follow-up to the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized study to determine the long-term effect of hearing intervention vs. successful aging/delayed hearing intervention on rates of cognitive decline and incident mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

Detailed Description

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ORIGINAL ACHIEVE TRIAL:

The Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study is an National Institute on Aging (NIA)-sponsored Phase III randomized controlled trial (R01AG055426; Multiple Principal Investigators: Lin/Coresh) investigating whether hearing loss treatment versus an aging education control intervention reduces cognitive decline over a 3-year follow-up period. From 2018 to 2019, the investigators recruited 977 adults aged 70-84 years with untreated mild-to-moderate hearing loss who were randomized 1:1 at baseline to receive hearing intervention (HI; best practices hearing services and technologies) versus a successful aging (SA) education control intervention (i.e., one-on-one sessions with a health educator covering topics important for healthy aging). Participants are followed semi-annually at the ACHIEVE field sites (Washington County, Maryland; Jackson, Mississippi; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Forsyth County; North Carolina) with final Year 3 study visits for ACHIEVE participants scheduled from 2021-2022. After the participants Year 3 visit, all participants randomized to the SA education control group will also be offered the hearing intervention. Final Year 3 results from this original trial will indicate whether hearing intervention (versus a successful aging control intervention) reduces cognitive decline over a 3-year interval after randomization.

ACHIEVE BRAIN HEALTH FOLLOW-up STUDY:

The current study will continue following the ACHIEVE cohort for an additional 3 years after the participants Year 3 visit (i.e., total of 6 years) to determine the long-term effects of hearing intervention (i.e., participants randomized to HI at ACHIEVE baseline) versus successful aging/delayed HI control (i.e., participants randomized to SA at ACHIEVE baseline and offered HI after the participants ACHIEVE Year 3 visit) on cognitive, dementia, and brain outcomes. Given that cognitive impairment typically reflects the slow accumulation of pathologic changes, the benefits of hearing intervention in slowing this decline may not be fully appreciable within just 3 years. Therefore, this 6-year follow-up of the cohort will allow the investigators to fully evaluate the longer, cumulative impact of hearing loss treatment on older adults. Such findings will complement the main trial results in 2023 and directly inform clinical and policy decisions around the potential use of hearing interventions to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).

Conditions

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Aging Cognitive Decline Mild Cognitive Impairment Dementia Hearing Loss

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Investigators

Study Groups

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Hearing intervention (HI) group

Participants in this group were randomized to the hearing intervention (HI) group at ACHIEVE trial baseline and received a best practices hearing rehabilitation treatment program, consisting of fitting with hearing aids and other hearing assistive technologies along with comprehensive, individualized hearing rehabilitation sessions with a study audiologist spaced over the 2-3 months post-fitting designed to provide all the active components of the intervention. Participants also received semi-annual booster sessions with the study audiologist. These participants will continue to receive hearing healthcare from the study audiologist and complete semi-annual sessions for 3 additional years.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Hearing intervention

Intervention Type OTHER

The hearing intervention is best practices hearing rehabilitation treatment program, consisting of fitting with hearing aids and other hearing assistive technologies along with comprehensive, individualized hearing rehabilitation sessions with a study audiologist spaced over the 2-3 months post-fitting designed to provide all the active components of the intervention. Participants also received semi-annual booster sessions with the study audiologist for 3 years and will continue to receive hearing healthcare from the study audiologist and complete semi-annual sessions for 3 additional years.

Successful aging/Delayed hearing intervention (SA/DHI) group

Participants in this active control group were randomized to the successful aging (SA) group at ACHIEVE trial baseline and received a successful aging health education program, following the protocol and materials developed for the 10 Keys to Healthy Aging program. The program involved individualized sessions with a study health educator to control for staff-participant time and attention between the two groups. Upon completion of the ACHIEVE trial, these participants are offered the best practices hearing rehabilitative treatment program with comprehensive, individualized sessions post-fitting and will receive semi-annual booster sessions with the study audiologist for 3 years.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Successful aging/delayed hearing intervention

Intervention Type OTHER

The successful aging health education program follows the protocol and materials developed for the 10 Keys to Healthy Aging program. The program involved individualized sessions with a study health educator, with initial sessions spaced over the 2-3 months post-randomization and semi-annual sessions for 3 years. Upon completion of the ACHIEVE trial, these participants are offered the best practices hearing rehabilitative treatment program with comprehensive, individualized sessions post-fitting and will receive semi-annual booster sessions with the study audiologist for 3 years.

Interventions

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Hearing intervention

The hearing intervention is best practices hearing rehabilitation treatment program, consisting of fitting with hearing aids and other hearing assistive technologies along with comprehensive, individualized hearing rehabilitation sessions with a study audiologist spaced over the 2-3 months post-fitting designed to provide all the active components of the intervention. Participants also received semi-annual booster sessions with the study audiologist for 3 years and will continue to receive hearing healthcare from the study audiologist and complete semi-annual sessions for 3 additional years.

Intervention Type OTHER

Successful aging/delayed hearing intervention

The successful aging health education program follows the protocol and materials developed for the 10 Keys to Healthy Aging program. The program involved individualized sessions with a study health educator, with initial sessions spaced over the 2-3 months post-randomization and semi-annual sessions for 3 years. Upon completion of the ACHIEVE trial, these participants are offered the best practices hearing rehabilitative treatment program with comprehensive, individualized sessions post-fitting and will receive semi-annual booster sessions with the study audiologist for 3 years.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Eligible for and participated in the ACHIEVE trial (see original criteria below)
* Agree to participate and are able and willing to comply with study procedures for three years in the follow-up study


* Age 70-84 years
* Community dwelling, fluent English speaker
* Availability of participant in area for study duration
* Adult-onset hearing impairment, defined as four-frequency pure tone average (PTA, 0.5-4 kilohertz (kHz), better ear) ≥ 30 decibels hearing level (dB HL) \& ≤ 70 dB HL
* Speech recognition scores in quiet ≥ 60% in better ear
* Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) score ≥ 23 for high school degree or less; ≥ 25 for some college or more

Exclusion Criteria

* Reported disability in ≥ 2 activities of daily living (ADLs)
* Vision impairment (worse than 20/63 on the Minnesota Near Vision Card)
* Self-reported use of a hearing aid in the past 1 year
* Medical contraindication to use of hearing aids (e.g., draining ear)
* Unwilling to wear hearing aids on a daily basis
* Conductive hearing impairment with air-bone gap \> 15 dB (decibels) in two or more contiguous frequencies in both ears
Minimum Eligible Age

73 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Johns Hopkins University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

University of North Carolina

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of South Florida

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Minnesota

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Mississippi Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Wake Forest University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Mayo Clinic

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

NYU Langone Health

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Frank R Lin, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Johns Hopkins University

Josef Coresh, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

NYU Langone Health

Locations

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Johns Hopkins Comstock Center for Public Health Research and Prevention

Hagerstown, Maryland, United States

Site Status

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Site Status

University of Mississippi Medical Center

Jackson, Mississippi, United States

Site Status

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Gross AL, Power MC, Albert MS, Deal JA, Gottesman RF, Griswold M, Wruck LM, Mosley TH Jr, Coresh J, Sharrett AR, Bandeen-Roche K. Application of Latent Variable Methods to the Study of Cognitive Decline When Tests Change over Time. Epidemiology. 2015 Nov;26(6):878-87. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000379.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26414855 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01AG076518

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

IRB00319430

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id