The Study
Longitudinal associations between cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome and sensory impairments in Chinese middle-aged and older adults: a weighted marginal structural model analysis
This study looked at a big group of Chinese adults over many years and found that people with more heart, kidney, and metabolism problems were more likely to start having trouble hearing or seeing. But it didn’t prove that the health problems caused the hearing or vision loss — just that they often happened together.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
When your body has too much sugar, high blood pressure, and kidney trouble all at once, it can slowly damage your hearing and vision over time — especially if you're older or live in a rural area with less healthcare.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 559 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Losing both hearing and vision together makes it much harder to live independently — this study suggests that managing heart and metabolic health early could help prevent this double decline.
- 2People with the worst combination of heart, kidney, and metabolic problems had a 50% higher chance of losing both hearing and vision, and a 36% higher chance of losing hearing alone, compared to people with perfect health.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
BMC Public Health
Year
2026
Authors
Qi Zhang, Jianlin Lin, Shaofeng Zhou, Xinglin Ruan, Jing Wu, Shiwei Ruan
Related Content
Claims (6)
Chinese adults aged 45 and older with advanced cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome have a 36% higher rate of developing hearing loss and a 50% higher rate of developing both hearing and vision loss compared to those without this condition, after accounting for age, sex, education, and lifestyle.
People with advanced cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome have a higher likelihood of experiencing both hearing and vision loss compared to those with milder forms of the condition, even when accounting for different comparison groups.
In Chinese adults aged 45 and older, each higher stage of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome is linked to a greater risk of developing hearing loss and loss of both hearing and vision.
People with advanced cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome have a 50% higher likelihood of losing both hearing and vision together compared to people with optimal health, and this combined sensory loss is more strongly linked to the syndrome than loss of hearing or vision alone.
People with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome who are aged 65 or older, live in rural areas, or have less education are more likely to experience sensory impairments than others with the same syndrome.
Half of all vision impairment cases worldwide are caused by lifestyle and metabolic factors that can be changed, such as diet, physical activity, and blood sugar control.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.