ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Longitudinal patterns of visual impairment and trajectories of cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults: the moderating role of social vulnerability.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Most studies treat visual impairment (VI) as a static, binary exposure. Less is known about whether distinct longitudinal VI patterns are differentially associated with later cognitive and affective trajectories, and whether social vulnerability modifies these associations. Objective: To examine whether longitudinal VI patterns classified by directionality and chronicity are differentially associated with trajectories of cognitive function and depressive symptoms, and whether social vulnerability modifies these associations. Methods: We analyzed data from 15,393 older adults in the Health and Retirement Study. VI was classified into four patterns (Never, Worsening, Improving, Persistent) based on self-reported visual status in 2006 and 2008. Cognitive function and depressive symptoms were assessed biennially from 2008 to 2020 and 2022, respectively. Linear mixed-effects models estimated trajectories adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health covariates. Three-way interactions tested effect modification by loneliness, living alone, and partner status. Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate correction was applied to the three-way interaction analyses. Results: All VI groups had lower baseline cognitive scores and higher depressive symptoms than Never VI. The Improving VI group showed the steepest cognitive decline ( Conclusion: Longitudinal VI patterns carry distinct prognostic significance for cognitive and affective trajectories. Improving VI was associated with modestly faster subsequent cognitive decline (cumulative difference approximately 0.31 points over 12 years, or 1.1% of the cognitive scale), warranting continued monitoring even after apparent visual improvement. Social vulnerability modified selected VI-related trajectories, supporting the need for future research on integrated sensory and social intervention strategies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.