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43/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 43 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Objectives We aimed to determine whether self-assessed single (hearing or visual) and dual sensory (hearing and visual) impairments are associated with cognitive decline and incident possible cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) and probable dementia. Method Data were drawn from the 1996-2014 surveys of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), involving 19,618 respondents who had no probable dementia and who were aged 50 years or older at the baseline. We used linear mixed models to test the association between self-assessed sensory impairment and cognitive decline followed by a Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the relative risk of incident possible CIND and probable dementia associated with the presence of sensory impairment. Results Respondents with self-assessed single and dual sensory impairment performed worse in cognitive tests than those without sensory impairment. The fully adjusted incidence of developing possible CIND was 17% higher for respondents with hearing impairment than those without hearing impairment. Respondents with visual impairment had 35% and 25% higher risk for developing possible CIND and probable dementia, respectively, than those without visual impairment. Respondents with dual sensory impairment at baseline were 38% and 26% more likely to develop possible CIND and probable dementia, respectively, than those with no sensory impairment. Discussion Self-assessed sensory impairment is independently associated with cognitive decline and incident possible CIND and probable dementia. Further studies are needed to identify the mechanism underlying this association and to determine whether treatment of sensory impairment could ameliorate cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia among older adults.

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APA 7th

Maharani, A., Dawes, P., Nazroo, J., Tampubolon, G., Pendleton, N., & Sense-Cog WP1 Group. (2020). Associations Between Self-Reported Sensory Impairment and Risk of Cognitive Decline and Impairment in the Health and Retirement Study Cohort. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz043

Vancouver

Maharani A, Dawes P, Nazroo J, Tampubolon G, Pendleton N, Sense-Cog WP1 Group. Associations Between Self-Reported Sensory Impairment and Risk of Cognitive Decline and Impairment in the Health and Retirement Study Cohort. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. 2020. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbz043. PMID: 30977823.

BibTeX

@article{maharani2020-30977823,
  author  = {Maharani, A. and Dawes, P. and Nazroo, J. and Tampubolon, G. and Pendleton, N. and {Sense-Cog WP1 Group}},
  title   = {{Associations Between Self-Reported Sensory Impairment and Risk of Cognitive Decline and Impairment in the Health and Retirement Study Cohort}},
  journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences},
  year    = {2020},
  doi     = {10.1093/geronb/gbz043},
  pmid    = {30977823},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz043}
}

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Key findings

Objectives We aimed to determine whether self-assessed single (hearing or visual) and dual sensory (hearing and visual) impairments are associated with cognitive decline and incident possible cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) and probable dementia.
We used linear mixed models to test the association between self-assessed sensory impairment and cognitive decline followed by a Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the relative risk of incident possible CIND and probable dementia associated with the presence of sensory impairment.
Results Respondents with self-assessed single and dual sensory impairment performed worse in cognitive tests than those without sensory impairment.
Respondents with visual impairment had 35% and 25% higher risk for developing possible CIND and probable dementia, respectively, than those without visual impairment.
Discussion Self-assessed sensory impairment is independently associated with cognitive decline and incident possible CIND and probable dementia.

Why it matters

In 19,618 older adults, self-reported hearing, visual, and dual sensory impairments were associated with worse cognitive test performance and higher risk of possible cognitive impairment and probable dementia. This observational study shows associations only and does not test whether treating sensory impairment prevents dementia.

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Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 43/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	The Journals of Gerontology Series B: journal h-index 225 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	2 / 5	2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 143 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	17.9 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 10.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 4 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 63 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	1 / 4	Last-listed author Therese von Hanno: h-index 16 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	University of Manchester: institution h-index 1,304 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	0 / 3	OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete)
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30977823)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	43 / 100	—

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