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Every row

Showing 8 of 382 rows. One row per study per exposure: a study that tested two different things appears twice, once for each.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Research and outcomes, 8 rows. Every row links to its source.
Exposure Question Direction Outcome measured Design People Effect size, as the source reported it Source
Hearing loss / hearing aids Hearing and vision Prevention Benefit
why

Confined to people who said the aid actually improved their hearing (HR 0.86); those reporting poor improvement showed nothing (HR 0.98).

Probable dementia over a mean 6.5 years cohort study 61,089 HR 0.91 (95% CI 0.88-0.94) for hearing aid use; HR 0.86 (0.80-0.93) with effective use Cell Reports Medicine 2026
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 42127901
Hearing loss / hearing aids Hearing and vision Prevention Harm
why

Direction is for having the impairment. Dual sensory impairment carried the highest risk (HR 1.63 for all-cause dementia, 2.55 for Alzheimer's).

All-cause and cause-specific dementia meta-analysis 937,908 Hearing impairment: pooled HR 1.30 (95% CI 1.21-1.40); dual sensory impairment HR 1.63 (1.14-2.12) for all-cause dementia BMC Medicine 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 39506811
Hearing loss / hearing aids Hearing and vision Prevention Harm
why

Direction is for hearing loss. Risk was lower among those using hearing aids (aHR 1.06) than those not (aHR 1.20). The authors note their estimates are smaller than earlier studies'.

Incident dementia over a mean 8.6 years cohort study 573,088 Hearing loss without hearing aids aHR 1.20 (95% CI 1.13-1.27); with hearing aids aHR 1.06 (1.01-1.10) JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 38175662
Hearing loss / hearing aids Hearing and vision Prevention No effect
why

Null in the primary analysis of the whole cohort. The prespecified analysis of the higher-risk ARIC subgroup found less decline, which the authors present as hypothesis-generating rather than as a result.

3-year global cognition (primary analysis) randomised trial 977 Primary analysis: "3-year cognitive change (in SD units) was not significantly different between HI and SA control (HI: -0.200 [95% CI: -0.256, 0.144]; SA: -0.202 [95% CI: -0.258, -0.145]; Difference 0.002 [95% CI: -0.077, 0.081], p=0.96)." ARIC subgroup: "HI was associated with a 48% reduction in 3-year cognitive change compared to SA control (Difference 0.191 [95% CI: 0.022, 0.360], p=0.027)." The Lancet 2023
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 37478886
Hearing loss / hearing aids Hearing and vision Prevention Benefit
why

Mostly observational (25 of 31 studies), so people who take up hearing aids may differ from those who do not. The authors call for randomised trials — and ACHIEVE, the trial that followed, was null overall.

Long-term cognitive decline meta-analysis 137,484 HR 0.81 (95% CI 0.76-0.87) for cognitive decline with hearing aid use JAMA Neurology 2023
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 36469314
Vision impairment / cataract surgery Hearing and vision Prevention Benefit
why

Against untreated cataract. People who had surgery ended up at about the same risk as controls who never had cataracts (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.66-1.06), and there was no short-term gain in those already cognitively impaired.

Long-term cognitive decline / dementia meta-analysis 558,276 HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.72-0.78) for cognitive decline with surgery Ophthalmology 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 38336283
Vision impairment / cataract surgery Hearing and vision Prevention Harm
why

Direction is for having a vision impairment. Single vision impairment raised all-cause dementia risk but not Alzheimer's specifically; having both hearing and vision impairment carried the highest risk.

All-cause and cause-specific dementia meta-analysis 937,908 UK Biobank cohort: vision impairment and all-cause dementia HR 1.55 (95% CI 1.18-2.04) and non-Alzheimer non-vascular dementia HR 1.51 (1.07-2.13). Meta-analysis of 31 cohorts: single vision impairment and all-cause dementia HR 1.43 (95% CI 1.16-1.71), not significant for Alzheimer's. Mendelian randomisation: vision impairment and non-AD non-VD OR 1.62 (95% CI 1.13-2.33). Dual sensory impairment: all-cause dementia HR 1.63 (1.14-2.12) BMC Medicine 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 39506811
Vision impairment / cataract surgery Hearing and vision Prevention Harm
why

Direction is for having cataracts or myopia. A Mendelian randomisation analysis supported the cataract-vascular dementia link.

Incident dementia and brain volume cohort study 304,953 Cataracts HR 1.18 (95% CI 1.07-1.29) for dementia; MR OR 1.92 (1.26-2.92) for vascular dementia JAMA Network Open 2024
✓ Peer-reviewed PMID 39078629

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