Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul 26;14(7):e0220370.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220370. eCollection 2019.

Association of metabolic syndrome with the incidence of hearing loss: A national population-based study

Da Jung Jung  1 , Kyung Do Han  2 , Yang-Sun Cho  3 , Chae Seo Rhee  4 , Kyu-Yup Lee  1
Affiliations

Association of metabolic syndrome with the incidence of hearing loss: A national population-based study

Da Jung Jung et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background & aims: Sensorineural hearing loss (HL) is one of the most common public health problems, and its prevalence increases with increasing life expectancy. An association between HL and metabolic syndrome (MetS) is suspected. Although previous epidemiological studies have investigated the association between the two variables, there have been conflicting conclusions. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between the presence of MetS-and individual components of MetS-and HL, using a longitudinal design and a large-scale population.

Methods: A total of 17,513,555 individuals who underwent national health screening between January 2009 and December 2010 were identified. Subject data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service were reviewed. A total of 11,457,931 subjects were ultimately included in the analysis. Baseline comorbidities were defined according to the ICD-10 code from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service data. If the participants had an ICD-10 code for HL during the follow-up, they were defined as having incident HL. Criteria for MetS adhered to the revised National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III.

Results: There were 7,574,432 subjects without MetS and 3,883,499 with MetS. The incidence of HL in subjects without MetS and with MetS was 1.3% and 1.8% at 1 year, 4.1% and 5.2% at 3 years, and 6.8% and 8.6% at 5 years, respectively (P < 0.001). However, multivariate analyses revealed a negative association. Analyses according to the components of MetS demonstrated a positive association for those associated with dyslipidemia; however, the others exhibited an inverse association with HL. We also performed analyses using 4 groups according to the presence of MetS and the components of dyslipidemia. Univariate analysis revealed a positive association between the presence of MetS and HL; however, multivariate analysis revealed a positive association between the presence of dyslipidemia components and HL, regardless of the presence of MetS.

Conclusion: Among the components of MetS, the association between low HDL or high TG levels and HL was most apparent. It is useful to evaluate each MetS component in isolation, such as the presence of low HDL or high TG levels, rather than the presence of MetS as a cluster of components.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Kaplan-Meier curve according to the presence of metabolic syndrome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Im GJ, Ahn JH, Lee JH, do Han K, Lee SH, Kim JS, et al. Prevalence of severe-profound hearing loss in South Korea: a nationwide population-based study to analyse a 10-year trend (2006–2015). Sci Rep. 2018;8:9940 10.1038/s41598-018-28279-z - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. 2015;386:743–800. 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60692-4 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Deafness prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013; 30, September, 2018 http://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/news/Millionslivewithhearingloss.pdf?ua=1
    1. Oron Y, Elgart K, Marom T, Roth Y. Cardiovascular Risk Factors as Causes for Hearing Impairment. Audiol Neurootol. 2014;19:256–260. 10.1159/000363215 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Grundy SM, Cleeman JI, Daniels SR, Donato KA, Eckel RH, Franklin BA, et al. Diagnostic and management of the metabolic syndrome: an American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Scientific Statement. Circulation. 2005;112:2735–2752. 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.105.169404 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types