Metabolic syndrome is associated with hearing disturbance

Abstract

Background: Although metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been associated with various diseases, few studies to date have addressed the association between MetS and hearing loss.

Aims/Objectives: This cross-sectional review of health examination center data sought to determine the association between MetS and hearing disturbance.

Material and methods: This study involved 28,866 subjects. Height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure were measured, and basic blood tests and pure-tone audiometry (PTA) were performed. Other factors analyzed included body mass index, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia.

Results: Age and gender did not differ between subjects with and without MetS. PTA was slightly higher in subjects with than without MetS, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = .47). The incidence of hearing loss was no higher in subjects who met three of the five diagnostic criteria of MetS than in those who met 0–2 criteria, but was significantly higher in subjects who met four (p = .04) and five (p < .01) criteria.

Conclusions and Significance: MetS may be associated with hearing loss, especially in subjects who meet four or five of the diagnostic criteria for MetS.

Chinese abstract

背景：虽然代谢综合征（MetS）与各种疾病有关, 但迄今为止很少有研究探讨MetS与听力损失之间的关系。

目的：对健康检查中心数据的横向重审试图确定MetS与听力障碍之间的关系。

材料与方法：本研究共纳入28866名研究对象。测量了身高、体重、腰围、血压, 进行基本血液检查和纯音测听（PTA）。其他分析因素包括体重指数、高血压、糖尿病和高脂血症。

结果：年龄和性别在患与不患METS的受试者之间差异不显著。患MetS者的PTA略高于无MetS者, 但差异无统计学意义（p =.47）。符合MetS五项诊断标准中的三项的受试者的听力损失发生率并不高于符合0-2项标准的受试者, 但符合四项(p=.04)和五项(p<.01)标准的受试者的听力损失发生率显著高于符合0-2项标准的受试者。

结论和意义：MetS可能与听力损失有关, 对符合4或5项MetS诊断标准的受试者尤为如此。

Keywords:

• Metabolic syndrome
• hearing
• hypertension
• diabetes mellitus
• obesity
• hyperlipidemia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board of Kyung Hee University Medical Center. All analyses were based on existing data that has been anonymized; therefore patient’s consent was not required.