J Audiol Otol.  2019 Apr;23(2):63-68. 10.7874/jao.2018.00241.

Hazardous Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Hearing Impairment in Adults Based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey: A Retrospective Study

• Park JA
• Suh MJ

• KMID: 2447575
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7874/jao.2018.00241

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
To investigate the relationship between hearing impairment and alcohol drinking patterns in South Korean adults.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Data collection was performed by Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey from January 1 to December 31, 2012. Data analyses were performed from February 20 to March 3, 2018. Data from 3,860 adults 20 years of age or older without a history of malignancy or chronic otitis media in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 database who participated in the health questionnaires, and who had available results from otologic examinations that included pure tone audiogram, were included. Pure-tone average hearing thresholds were calculated at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz. Hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average >40 dB in one or both ears. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test was used to evaluate drinking statuses of subjects. Data were analyzed using the complex-sample χ²-test of independence and a complex-sample logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS
Of the 29,954,319 individuals in the weighted cross-sectional study population, 15,106,040 (50.4%) were men and 14,848,098 (49.6%) were women. A total of 8.1% of men and 7% of women had hearing impairment. The degrees of drinking with appropriate, risky, and hazardous drinking habits were 58.2, 32.1, and 9.7% among men; and 76.4, 12.5, and 11.1% among women, respectively. Among men, the odds ratio of hearing loss increased by 2.506 times when comparing hazardous and appropriate drinking (confidence interval, 1.083 to 5.800, p=0.002). Moderate alcohol consumption (≤2 drinks per day) was not protective for hearing in either group.
CONCLUSIONS
As hazardous drinking tends to coexist with hearing impairment in men, appropriate prevention and intervention strategies should be emphasized. A longitudinal study to investigate harmful drinking and the mechanism of hearing loss should be performed.

Keyword

Hearing loss; Alcoholism; Longitudinal studies; Deafness; Prevalence; Risk factors; Alcohol drinking

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Alcohol Drinking*
Alcoholism
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data Collection
Deafness
Drinking
Ear
Female
Hearing Loss*
Hearing*
Humans
Logistic Models
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Nutrition Surveys*
Odds Ratio
Otitis Media
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies*
Risk Factors
Statistics as Topic