Subclinical Atherosclerosis Could Increase the Risk of Hearing Impairment in Males: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Survey of the Kailuan Study.

OBJECTIVE

The relationship between subclinical atherosclerosis and hearing impairment (HI) has not been widely considered. Brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is a good indicator of muscular artery elasticity and could be a feasible method to screen for subclinical atherosclerosis. Our study aimed to elucidate the relationship between baPWV and HI.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was based on the Kailuan cohort. All participants completed a standardized questionnaire and underwent physical examinations and laboratory assessments at recruitment. Since 2010, some participants received additional baPWV testing during follow-up visits, and some who were exposed to occupational hazards such as noise received a pure-tone average hearing threshold (PTA) test after 2014. Male subjects with a complete physical examination, baPWV, and PTA data were recruited for this study. HI was defined as PTA > 25 dB. Multivariate linear and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between baPWV and PTA or HI.

RESULTS

Among 11,141 subjects, the age range was 18-65 years, with mean age of 43.3 ± 8.9 years, the average PTA was 20.54 ± 10.40 dB, and the detection rate of HI was 1,821/11,141 (16.3%). Subjects were divided into four subgroups according to baPWV quartile. As the baPWV quartile increased, age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, total cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, PTA, and proportions of subjects reporting smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, and diabetes increased significantly ( < 0.05 for trend). The odds of HI were higher in the fourth quartile group [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.33, 95% CI: 1.10-1.62] than in the first quartile group. For every 100 m/s increase in baPWV, the PTA increased by 13 dB (95% CI: 4-23). When we divided the subjects into young (5,478 subjects; age range 22-44 years; mean age 35.6 ± 5.5 years) or non-young subgroups (5,663 subjects; age range 45-65 years; mean age 50.7 ± 3.7 years) based on a cut-off age of 45 years, the aOR of the fourth quartile group increased to 2.65 (95% CI: 1.68-4.19), and the PTA increment increased to 18 dB (95% CI: 10-27) for every 100 m/s increase in baPWV in the young subgroup. However, this relationship became statistically insignificant in the non-young subgroup.

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed the quantitative relationship between baPWV and HI in the Kailuan cohort subjects, although the results are not universally consistent in different populations.