Department of Medical Research, Tungs' Taichung Metroharbor Hospital, Taichung 43503, Taiwan.
Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 17;17(6):1969. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17061969.
Whether exposure to air pollution is associated with developing sensorineural hearing loss (SHL) remains controversial. Using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database, we recruited a total of 75,767 subjects aged older than 20 years with no history of SHL from 1998 to 2010, and they were followed up until SHL was observed, they withdrew from the National Health Insurance program, or the study ended. The subjects were evenly exposed to low-level, mid-level, and high-level carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO). The incidence rate ratio of SHL for patients exposed to high-level CO was 1.24 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-1.36). The NO pollutants increased the incidence rate ratios of SHL in mid-level NO and high-level NO exposures by 1.10 (95% CI = 1.10-1.32) and 1.36 (95% CI = 1.24-1.49) times, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio (adj. HR) of SHL in patients exposed to high-level CO was 1.45 (95% CI = 1.31-1.59), relative to that of patients exposed to low-level CO. Compared to patients exposed to low-level NO, patients exposed to mid-level NO (adj. HR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.27-1.54) and high-level NO (adj. HR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.48-1.81) had a higher risk of developing SHL. The increased risk of SHL following the increased concentrations of air pollutants (CO and NO) was statistically significant in this study. In conclusion, the subjects' exposure to air pollution exhibited a significantly higher risk of developing SHL in Taiwan.
空气中污染物暴露与感音神经性听力损失（SHL）的相关性仍存在争议。本研究使用 1998 年至 2010 年国家健康保险研究数据库的数据，共招募了 75767 名年龄大于 20 岁、无 SHL 病史的受试者，随访至出现 SHL、退出国家健康保险计划或研究结束。受试者暴露于低、中、高水平一氧化碳（CO）和二氧化氮（NO）。暴露于高水平 CO 的患者的 SHL 发病率比值为 1.24（95%置信区间[CI] = 1.14-1.36）。NO 污染物分别使中水平 NO 和高水平 NO 暴露的 SHL 发病率比值增加 1.10（95% CI = 1.10-1.32）和 1.36（95% CI = 1.24-1.49）。暴露于高水平 CO 的患者的 SHL 调整后的危害比（adj. HR）为 1.45（95% CI = 1.31-1.59），与暴露于低水平 CO 的患者相比。与暴露于低水平 NO 的患者相比，暴露于中水平 NO（adj. HR = 1.40，95% CI = 1.27-1.54）和高水平 NO（adj. HR = 1.63，95% CI = 1.48-1.81）的患者发生 SHL 的风险更高。本研究中，空气中污染物（CO 和 NO）浓度增加与 SHL 风险增加之间存在统计学显著相关性。总之，在台湾，空气中污染物暴露会显著增加感音神经性听力损失的风险。
