Association between metabolic syndrome and sensorineural hearing loss: a cross-sectional study of 11,114 participants

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of participants with and without SNHL

Variables	SNHL		P-value
	Yes (n=2772)	No (n=8342)
Continuous variables, mean ± SD
Age (years)	43.45±10.07	36.05±9.26	<0.001
BMI (kg/m^2)	27.17±4.08	26.42±4.13	<0.001
FBG (mg/dL)	94.05±22.71	90.37±19.18	<0.001
TG (mg/dL)	181.60±118.87	170.88±114.17	<0.001
HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	45.05±9.78	43.99±9.58	<0.001
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)	186.48±37.12	183.09±38.01	<0.001
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	126.85±16.37	123.29±13.81	<0.001
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	80.52±10.38	76.96±10.18	<0.001
Waist circumference (cm)	95.21±11.56	92.42±11.94	<0.001
Duration of driving (years)	28.06±6.52	26.04±5.39	<0.001
Left ear (dB)
Low PTA	12.65±6.25	6.85±2.81	<0.001
High PTA	33.86±14.50	9.61±4.69	<0.001
Right ear (dB)
Low PTA	12.50±6.07	6.76±2.67	<0.001
High PTA	32.69±14.82	9.29±4.27	<0.001
Qualitative variable, n (%)
Smoking status
Nonsmoking	1951 (70.4)	6761 (81.0)	–
≤10 pack-years	360 (13.0)	976 (11.7)	–
11–20 pack-years	285 (10.3)	402 (4.8)	–
>20 pack-years	176 (6.3)	203 (2.4)	–
Hypertension $\left(\frac{\ge 130}{\ge 85}\text{mmHg}\right)$
Yes	1293 (46.6)	2927 (35.1)	–
No	1479 (53.4)	5415 (64.9)	–
BMI
Normal weight (BMI<25 kg/m^2)	883 (31.9)	3273 (39.2)	–
Overweight (25≤BMI≤29 kg/m^2)	1209 (43.6)	3418 (41.0)	–
Obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m^2)	680 (24.5)	1651 (19.8)	–

Abbreviations: SNHL, sensorineural hearing loss; SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index; FBG, fasting blood glucose; TG, triglyceride; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; low PTA, pure tone average at low frequencies; high PTA, pure tone average at high frequencies.

Table 2 Associations between various potential risk factors and SNHL (yes/no)

Variables	OR (95%CI)	P-value	Adjusted OR (95% CI)	P-value
MetS (yes/no)	1.40 (1.28–1.54)	<0.001	1.38 (1.25–1.51)a	<0.001
MetS (with 4 components/with 3 components)	1.48 (1.28–1.71)	<0.001	1.45 (1.26–1.67)a	<0.001
MetS (with 5 components/with 3 components)	1.78 (1.30–2.44)	<0.001	1.72 (1.25–2.37)a	<0.001
Hypertension (yes/no)	1.61 (1.48–1.76)	<0.001	1.58 (1.45–1.72)a	<0.001
Smoking (yes/no)	1.50 (1.37–1.65)	<0.001	1.37 (1.25–1.51)b	<0.001
Smoking (≤10 pack-years/nonsmokers)	1.27 (1.12–1.45)	<0.001	1.19 (1.04–1.37)b	<0.001
Smoking (11–20 pack-years/nonsmokers)	2.45 (2.09–2.88)	<0.001	1.58 (1.33–1.87)b	<0.001
Smoking (>20 pack-years/≤ nonsmokers)	3.00 (2.44–3.69)	<0.001	2.33 (2.07–2.66)b	<0.001
BMI (overweight/normal weight)	1.31 (1.18–1.44)	<0.001	1.33 (1.20–1.47)a	<0.001
BMI (obesity/normal weight)	1.52 (1.35–1.71)	<0.001	1.55 (1.38–1.75)a	<0.001
Age (35–49/20–34 years)	2.67 (2.37–3.01)	<0.001	2.58 (2.29–2.91)a	<0.001
Age (≥50/20–34 years)	6.94 (6.08–7.92)	<0.001	6.35 (5.54–7.27)a	<0.001
Driving period (10–20/<10 years)	2.20 (1.91–2.53)	<0.001	2.17 (1.89–2.49)a	<0.001
Driving period (>20/<10 years)	5.85 (5.14–6.66)	<0.001	5.45 (4.78–6.22)a	<0.001

Notes:

a Adjusted for smoking.

b Adjusted for age.

Abbreviations: SNHL, sensorineural hearing loss; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; MetS, metabolic syndrome; BMI, body mass index.

Table 3 Associations between potential risk factors and different categories of SNHL

Variables	OR estimates	Patterns
		Flat (yes/no)	Down-sloping (yes/no)	Noise-induced (yes/no)
MetS (yes/no)	OR (95% CI)	1.52 (1.28–1.79)	1.56 (1.35–1.79)	1.22 (1.07–1.40)
	P-value	<0.001	<0.001	<0.003
BMI (overweight/normal weight)	OR (95% CI)	1.31 (1.09–1.58)	1.40 (1.20–1.64)	1.23 (1.06–1.41)
	P-value	<0.003	<0.001	<0.004
BMI (obesity/normal weight)	OR (95% CI)	1.61 (1.31–2.00)	1.55 (1.29–1.86)	1.45 (1.23–1.71)
	P-value	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
Smoking (yes/no)	OR (95% CI)	1.93 (1.65–2.27)	1.00 (0.86–1.15)	1.79 (1.58–2.04)
	P-value	<0.001	1.00	<0.001
Duration of driving (10–20/<10 years)	OR (95% CI)	3.33 (2.40–4.61)	2.53 (1.94–3.30)	1.82 (1.52–2.17)
	P-value	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
Duration of driving (>20/<10 years)	OR (95% CI)	10.92 (8.07–14.77)	10.08 (7.94–12.80)	3.08 (2.60–3.64)
	P-value	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001

Abbreviations: SNHL, sensorineural hearing loss; MetS, metabolic syndrome; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; BMI, body mass index.

Table 4 Regression coefficients for hearing threshold in the presence of MetS

Variables		Unadjusted	Model 1	Model 2	Unadjusted	Model 1	Model 2
High PTA					Low PTA
Presence of MetS	β	0.060	0.051	0.059	0.006	0.005	0.005
	95% CI	0.044–0.075	0.037–0.066	0.033–0.066	0.001–0.011	0.001–0.010	0.002–0.010
	P-value	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.014	0.040	0.024

Notes: Model 1 adjusted for age, duration of driving, and smoking. Model 2 adjusted for age, duration of driving, smoking, and BMI.

Abbreviations: MetS, metabolic syndrome; low PTA, pure tone average at low frequencies; high PTA, pure tone average at high frequencies; CI, confidence interval; BMI, body mass index.