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57/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 57 out of 100. Disparities

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Background Few studies have examined impairment in multiple senses (multisensory impairment) and risk of dementia in comparison to having a single or no sensory impairment. Methods We studied 1,810 black and white nondemented participants from Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study aged 70-79 years at enrollment. Sensory impairment was determined at our study baseline (Year 3-5 of Health ABC) using established cut points for vision (Bailey-Lovie visual acuity and Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity test), hearing (audiometric testing), smell (12-item Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test), and touch (peripheral nerve function tests). Incident dementia over 10 years of follow-up was based on hospitalization records, dementia medications, or at least 1.5 SD decline in Modified Mini-Mental State Examination score (race-specific). Cox proportional hazard models with adjustment for demographics, health behaviors, and health conditions evaluated the relationship between risk of dementia and increasing number of sensory impairments. Results Sensory impairments were common: 28% had visual impairment, 35% had hearing loss, 22% had poor smell, 12% had touch insensitivity; 26% had more than two impairments, and 5.6% had more than three sensory impairments. Number of impairments was associated with risk of dementia in a graded fashion (p Conclusions Multisensory impairment was strongly associated with increased risk of dementia. Although, the nature of this relationship needs further investigation, sensory function assessment in multiple domains may help identify patients at high risk of dementia.

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APA 7th

Brenowitz, W. D., Kaup, A. R., Lin, F. R., & Yaffe, K. (2019). Multiple Sensory Impairment Is Associated With Increased Risk of Dementia Among Black and White Older Adults. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gly264

Vancouver

Brenowitz WD, Kaup AR, Lin FR, Yaffe K. Multiple Sensory Impairment Is Associated With Increased Risk of Dementia Among Black and White Older Adults. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2019. doi:10.1093/gerona/gly264. PMID: 30452551.

BibTeX

@article{brenowitz2019-30452551,
  author  = {Brenowitz, W. D. and Kaup, A. R. and Lin, F. R. and Yaffe, K.},
  title   = {{Multiple Sensory Impairment Is Associated With Increased Risk of Dementia Among Black and White Older Adults}},
  journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences},
  year    = {2019},
  doi     = {10.1093/gerona/gly264},
  pmid    = {30452551},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gly264}
}

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Key findings

Results Sensory impairments were common: 28% had visual impairment, 35% had hearing loss, 22% had poor smell, 12% had touch insensitivity; 26% had more than two impairments, and 5.6% had more than three sensory impairments.
Number of impairments was associated with risk of dementia in a graded fashion (p Conclusions Multisensory impairment was strongly associated with increased risk of dementia.

Why it matters

In this study of 1,810 older black and white adults, having more sensory impairments (vision, hearing, smell, touch) was linked in a graded way to a higher risk of developing dementia over 10 years. This shows an association between sensory loss and dementia risk but does not test any treatment or prevention.

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Study details

Participants1,810
Effect size5.6%
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 57/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design 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 A, Biological sciences and medical sciences)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	The Journals of Gerontology Series A: journal h-index 274 (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	2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	3 / 4	1,810 participants
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
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	5 / 7	Cited 135 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	15.0 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 7.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 9 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 57 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Kristine S. Yaffe: h-index 155 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30452551)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	57 / 100	—

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