L-shaped relationship between dietary magnesium intake and hearing loss in US adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

Objective: The association between dietary magnesium intake and hearing loss (HL) at various frequencies remains unclear; therefore, we aimed to explore this association.

Design: A cross-sectional study of the National Health and Nutrition Survey database from 2011-2012 and 2015-2016.

Study sample: This study included 7,675 adults aged 20-69 years.

Results: The mean age was 44.0 ± 14.3 years, and 50.4% of participants were female. Compared to the lowest magnesium intake group (27.0-190.5 mg/day, OR = 1.00), the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for low-frequency HL (LFHL) were significantly lower in the middle and higher magnesium intake groups: 191.0-247.5 mg/day (OR: 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59-0.98; p = 0.037) and 248.0-306.5 mg/day (OR: 0.73; 95% CI, 0.55-0.96; p = 0.027). For speech-frequency HL (SFHL), the adjusted ORs were significantly lower in the middle and higher magnesium intake groups: 191.0-247.5 mg/day (OR: 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54-0.86; p = 0.001) and 248.0-306.5 mg/day (OR: 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.88; p = 0.003). Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed an "L-shaped" relationship between magnesium intake and LFHL and SFHL.

Conclusion: An "L-shaped" association between dietary magnesium intake and the risk of LFHL and SFHL was identified, with an inflection point at 275.5 mg/day.

Keywords: Dietary magnesium intake; National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES); cross-sectional study; hearing loss; restricted cubic spline.