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A comprehensive evaluation on the associations between hearing and vision impairments and risk of all-cause and cause-specific dementia: results from cohort study, meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study
Jiang F, Dong Q, Wu S, Liu X, Dayimu A, Liu Y, Ji H, Wang L, Liu T, Li N, et al.. BMC Medicine, 2024-11-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Results In the UKB cohort study, compared to participants with normal hearing, those in the mild and severe hearing impairment groups had progressively and significantly higher risk of all-cause dementia (mild: HR1.52, 95%CI 1.31-1.77; severe: HR1.80, 95%CI 1.36-2.38), AD (mild: HR1.63, 95%CI 1.30-2.04; severe: HR2.18, 95%CI 1.45-3.27), VD (mild: HR1.68, 95%CI 1.19-2.37; severe: HR1.47, 95%CI 1.22-1.78), and NAVD (mild: HR1.47, 95%CI 1.22-1.78; severe: HR1.98, 95%CI 1.43-2.75). Besides, vision impairment was associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia (HR1.55, 95%CI 1.18-2.04) and NAVD (HR1.51, 95%CI 1.07-2.13). Furthermore, dual sensory impairment was associated with stepwise increased risks of all-cause and cause-specific dementia than single hearing or vision impairment. In the meta-analysis of 31 prospective cohort studies, risks of all-cause dementia and AD were elevated in participants with single hearing impairment (all-cause dementia: HR1.30, 95%CI 1.21-1.40; AD: HR1.30, 95%CI 1.21-1.40) and dual sensory impairment (all-cause dementia: HR1.63, 95%CI1.14-2.12; AD: HR 2.55, 95%CI 1.19-3.91), while single vision impairment only associated with higher risk of all-cause dementia (HR1.43, 95%CI 1.16-1.71) but not AD. Finally, the MR analysis revealed a significant association between hearing impairment and all-cause dementia (OR1.74, 95%CI 1.01-2.99), AD (OR1.56, 95%CI 1.09-2.23), and NAVD (OR1.14, 1.02-1.26), as well as vision impairment and NAVD (OR1.62, 95%CI 1.13-2.33). Conclusions Our findings showed significant associations between hearing and vision impairments and increased risks of all-cause and cause-specific dementia.
Key findings
- Results In the UKB cohort study, compared to participants with normal hearing, those in the mild and severe hearing impairment groups had progressively and significantly higher risk of all-cause dementia (mild: HR1.52, 95%CI 1.31-1.77; severe: HR1.80, 95%CI 1.36-2.38), AD (mild: HR1.63, 95%CI 1.30-2.04; severe: HR2.18, 95%CI 1.45-3.27), VD (mild: HR1.68, 95%CI 1.19-2.37; severe: HR1.47, 95%CI 1.22-1.78), and NAVD (mild: HR1.47, 95%CI 1.22-1.78; severe: HR1.98, 95%CI 1.43-2.75).
- Besides, vision impairment was associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia (HR1.55, 95%CI 1.18-2.04) and NAVD (HR1.51, 95%CI 1.07-2.13).
- Furthermore, dual sensory impairment was associated with stepwise increased risks of all-cause and cause-specific dementia than single hearing or vision impairment.
- In the meta-analysis of 31 prospective cohort studies, risks of all-cause dementia and AD were elevated in participants with single hearing impairment (all-cause dementia: HR1.30, 95%CI 1.21-1.40; AD: HR1.30, 95%CI 1.21-1.40) and dual sensory impairment (all-cause dementia: HR1.63, 95%CI1.14-2.12; AD: HR 2.55, 95%CI 1.19-3.91), while single vision impairment only associated with higher risk of all-cause dementia (HR1.43, 95%CI 1.16-1.71) but not AD.
- Finally, the MR analysis revealed a significant association between hearing impairment and all-cause dementia (OR1.74, 95%CI 1.01-2.99), AD (OR1.56, 95%CI 1.09-2.23), and NAVD (OR1.14, 1.02-1.26), as well as vision impairment and NAVD (OR1.62, 95%CI 1.13-2.33).
Why it matters
This study combining cohort data, meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization found that hearing impairment and vision impairment were associated with higher dementia risk, and dual sensory impairment with even higher risk. The findings suggest that addressing sensory impairments may be relevant to dementia risk, but they do not prove that treating them prevents dementia.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants937,908
- Effect sizeHearing 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
- Evidence strengthModerate
Limitations
Observational cohort and meta-analysis remain vulnerable to reverse causation; Mendelian randomisation estimate for dementia had a wide interval; hearing and vision measured differently across studies.
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 65 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 66 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC Medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | BMC Medicine: journal h-index 259 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 937,908 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 14 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.5 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 14 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Haibo Wang: h-index 11 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Oxford: institution h-index 2,205 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 3 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 39506811) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 65 / 98 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 65 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 66 out of 100. |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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APA 7th
Jiang, F., Dong, Q., Wu, S., Liu, X., Dayimu, A., Liu, Y., et al. (2024). A comprehensive evaluation on the associations between hearing and vision impairments and risk of all-cause and cause-specific dementia: results from cohort study, meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study. BMC Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03748-7
Vancouver
Jiang F, Dong Q, Wu S, Liu X, Dayimu A, Liu Y, et al. A comprehensive evaluation on the associations between hearing and vision impairments and risk of all-cause and cause-specific dementia: results from cohort study, meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study. BMC Medicine. 2024. doi:10.1186/s12916-024-03748-7. PMID: 39506811.
BibTeX
@article{jiang2024-39506811,
author = {Jiang, F. and Dong, Q. and Wu, S. and Liu, X. and Dayimu, A. and Liu, Y. and Ji, H. and Wang, L. and Liu, T. and Li, N. and others},
title = {{A comprehensive evaluation on the associations between hearing and vision impairments and risk of all-cause and cause-specific dementia: results from cohort study, meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study}},
journal = {BMC Medicine},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1186/s12916-024-03748-7},
pmid = {39506811},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03748-7}
}
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