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51/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 51 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Reviewed as evidence on: Shingles (zoster) vaccination and dementia onset 5 studies (what the news said). Being listed means the study bears on the question, not that it agrees with the news.

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Among 5,145 participants included in the analyses, 747 (14.5 %) reported hearing loss, including 207 Black adults and 199 White adults. Each unit increase in the DASH, MedDiet, and MIND scores was associated with 19 % (95 % CI: 0.79, 0.94, P < 0.001), 11 % (95 % CI: 0.79, 1.00, P = 0.05), and 13 % (95 % CI: 0.87, 0.99, P < 0.05) lower risk for hearing loss, respectively. High adherence to the Western diet was associated with an earlier onset of hearing loss up to 14 months (P < 0.05). Participants had an increased rate of cognitive decline after reporting hearing loss. During follow-up, participants in the highest tertile of the DASH diet score who reported hearing loss experienced a 17 % faster cognitive decline (β = -0.07 ± 0.01) compared to those without hearing loss (β = -0.06 ± 0.003). However, this decline was significantly slower than that of participants observed in the lowest tertile of the DASH diet, who exhibited a 67 % faster cognitive decline (β = -0.10 ± 0.012, P = 0.05). Healthy dietary patterns, particularly the DASH diet, was associated with a reduced risk of hearing loss and slower cognitive decline following hearing loss. Clinically, these findings underscore the importance of dietary quality in preserving cognitive health by potentially mitigating risk of hearing loss or delaying the onset of hearing loss in older adults.

Key findings

Among 5,145 participants included in the analyses, 747 (14.5 %) reported hearing loss, including 207 Black adults and 199 White adults.
Each unit increase in the DASH, MedDiet, and MIND scores was associated with 19 % (95 % CI: 0.79, 0.94, P < 0.001), 11 % (95 % CI: 0.79, 1.00, P = 0.05), and 13 % (95 % CI: 0.87, 0.99, P < 0.05) lower risk for hearing loss, respectively.
High adherence to the Western diet was associated with an earlier onset of hearing loss up to 14 months (P < 0.05).
Participants had an increased rate of cognitive decline after reporting hearing loss.
During follow-up, participants in the highest tertile of the DASH diet score who reported hearing loss experienced a 17 % faster cognitive decline (β = -0.07 ± 0.01) compared to those without hearing loss (β = -0.06 ± 0.003).

Why it matters

In this cohort study, higher DASH, MedDiet and MIND scores were associated with lower risk of hearing loss, and participants in the highest DASH tertile who reported hearing loss had slower cognitive decline than those in the lowest tertile. The authors say dietary quality may help preserve cognitive health by mitigating or delaying hearing loss, but the findings are associations from a cohort study.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants5,145
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 51/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease)
Journal's citation record	0 / 4	The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 63 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A cohort study following people over time
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	2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	3 / 4	5,145 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	2 / 7	Cited 6 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	1 / 5	2.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025
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	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 6 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	2 / 4	Last-listed author Kumar Bharat Rajan: h-index 48 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	0 / 3	Rush University Medical Center: institution h-index 670 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40015758)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	51 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

APA 7th

Liu, X., Akhtar, U. S., Beck, T. L., Dennis, K., Evans, D. A., & Rajan, K. B. (2025). Hearing loss, diet, and cognitive decline: interconnections for dementia prevention. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2024.100052

Vancouver

Liu X, Akhtar US, Beck TL, Dennis K, Evans DA, Rajan KB. Hearing loss, diet, and cognitive decline: interconnections for dementia prevention. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.tjpad.2024.100052. PMID: 40015758.

BibTeX

@article{liu2025-40015758,
  author  = {Liu, Xiaoran and Akhtar, Uzma S. and Beck, Todd L. and Dennis, Kyle and Evans, Denis A. and Rajan, Kumar Bharat},
  title   = {{Hearing loss, diet, and cognitive decline: interconnections for dementia prevention}},
  journal = {The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer s Disease},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.tjpad.2024.100052},
  pmid    = {40015758},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2024.100052}
}

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