Evidence Density Map 2026 methods

This methods page documents how Healthy Aging Atlas generated the Supplement Evidence Density Map 2026, including source data, cleanup rules, included fields, and limitations.

Written by Healthy Aging Atlas Research Team·Status note: Methods documentation for an original-data report; no personalized supplement or treatment recommendation is made.·Updated June 15, 2026

This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Source data

The report uses HAA's DEC-068 v2 supplement-goal evidence matrix: Full 282-supplement matrix re-score. Supersedes supplement-matrix-scored.json (184-supplement, 1629 cells).

The source file reports 2,221 valid scored cells before publication cleanup, 2,442 raw pairings, and formula weights of 35% demand, 25% evidence, 20% commercial intent, 15% corpus-gap lift, and -5% YMYL penalty.

Cleanup rules before publication

  • Removed rows marked as editorial rejects, including L-DOPA rows because levodopa is a prescription medication class rather than a dietary supplement.
  • Removed rows where `conditionSlug` was `probiotic`, because that is a category/product-type artifact rather than a health outcome.
  • Kept broad marketed claim categories such as antioxidant because HAA has an antioxidant-support claim family; these are disclosed as broad claims, not disease outcomes.
  • Did not remove rows only because evidence was thin. The purpose of the report is to show thin and missing evidence, not hide it.
Step Count
Source matrix cells2221
Rows removed during publication cleanup34
Cleaned report denominator2187

Field definitions

Field Meaning
supplementNameNormalized supplement or ingredient label.
conditionSlugMapped marketed goal or claim target.
rctCountNumber of mapped PubMed-indexed randomized controlled trials in the source matrix.
metaAnalysisCountNumber of mapped systematic review or meta-analysis signals in the source matrix.
monthlyDemandSearch-demand proxy from DataForSEO or evidence proxy where fresh keyword data was unavailable.
evidenceStrengthMatrix-level evidence-strength label used for prioritization, not a clinical recommendation.
ymylHazardLevelEditorial risk label used to prioritize medical-review caution.

Headline stat calculation

The lead stat is calculated as zero-RCT cleaned rows divided by all cleaned rows: 485 / 2,187 = 22.2%.

The 3+ RCT stat is 828 / 2,187 = 37.9%. The 10+ RCT stat is 80 / 2,187 = 3.7%. The at-least-one-meta-analysis stat is 1,140 / 2,187 = 52.1%.

Cluster summary

Cluster names come from the source matrix and are used to show evidence-density asymmetry across the supplement landscape.

Cluster Pairings Zero R C T3+ R C T10+ R C T Meta-analysis
General Wellness47130.1%29.9%2.1%55.4%
Cardiovascular25716.7%46.3%9.3%55.3%
Metabolic Health24120.3%34%1.7%59.3%
Immune Support23312.4%54.9%5.6%42.9%
Cognitive Health17431%33.3%1.7%59.8%
Stress & Mood15423.4%39%3.9%53.2%
Liver & Detox9518.9%35.8%2.1%55.8%
Inflammation8511.8%31.8%1.2%43.5%
Athletic Performance8017.5%37.5%1.3%40%
Gut Health6319%42.9%4.8%42.9%
Energy & Fatigue6011.7%45%1.7%28.3%
Beauty & Hair517.8%54.9%5.9%35.3%
Joint Health4914.3%34.7%6.1%57.1%
Hormonal Health4425%29.5%4.5%61.4%
Longevity2944.8%10.3%0%69%

Limitations

  • The dataset is a structured evidence map, not a clinical guideline.
  • RCT count is not trial quality. It does not adjust for sample size, risk of bias, funding, dose, duration, comparator, or outcome relevance.
  • Monthly demand is a search-demand proxy, not a direct measurement of market claims or consumer purchasing.
  • The matrix is generated from HAA evidence-mining and demand-validation workflows; it is not a complete regulatory audit of all supplements sold online.
  • The report should be cited as a snapshot generated on the publication date, not as a live PubMed census.

Reproducibility assets

The cleaned JSON summary, generated CSV, and QA report are emitted by the generator script so future HAA agents can regenerate the report and compare denominators.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why remove probiotic as a goal?

In the source matrix, probiotic appeared as a condition keyword for several probiotic strains. That describes a product category, not a health outcome, so those rows were removed from the published denominator.

Why keep antioxidant?

Antioxidant is broad, but HAA has an antioxidant-support claim family. The report keeps it as a marketed claim category and discloses that broad claim categories are not the same as disease outcomes.

Why are editorial rejects removed?

Rows marked as editorial rejects were excluded so the public denominator reflects supplement-goal pairings HAA is willing to discuss as consumer-facing supplement topics.

Does RCT count measure evidence quality?

No. RCT count is a density signal only. It does not score risk of bias, sample size, intervention dose, duration, comparator, outcome relevance, or funding source.

Can another researcher reproduce the headline stat?

Yes. The generator emits the cleaned CSV, JSON summary, and QA report. The headline stat is zero-RCT cleaned rows divided by all cleaned rows.

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Citations & Research

  1. [1]Supplement Evidence Density Map 2026Source
  2. [2]Supplement Evidence Density Map 2026 CSVSource

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