Korean J Fam Pract.  2020 Jul;10(4):273-278. 10.21215/kjfp.2020.10.4.273.

Association between Insufficient Physical Activity and Hearing Loss in Korean Adults

• Park YK
• Jo YS
• Yook JH
• Park CJ
• Yoo NR
• Lim JH
• Jeon MS
• Park YK

• KMID: 2505328
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2020.10.4.273

Abstract

Background
Insufficient physical activity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and some studies report relationship between physical activityand hearing. We aimed to analyze association between hearing loss and physical activity level in Korean adults.
Methods
We used data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Insufficient physical activity was defined as a combinedphysical activity of less than 150 minutes per week.. Hearing loss was identified when the audible threshold decreased more than 40 dB. Weperformed multiple logistic regression analysis of major covariates and stratified the participants by age (≥60 versus <60).
Results
We analyzed 3,237 participants for whom no values were missing. In the final multivariate logistic analysis, the odds ratio of hearing loss was1.227 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.008–1.494) in the all frequency group and 1.361 (95% CI, 1.073–1.727) in the low frequency group. The resultfor the high frequency group was not statistically significant. In the group aged ≥60 years, the odds ratio of hearing loss in the all, low, and highfrequency groups were 1.277 (95% CI, 1.011–1.613), 1.405 (95% CI, 1.074–1.839), and 1.298 (95% CI, 1.013–1.662), respectively.
Conclusion
In this study, insufficient physical activity was associated with hearing loss in Korean adults. This result was more significant in the groupaged ≥60 years. Further studies should aim to validate these results and determine the causal relationship between physical inactivity and hearingloss.

Keyword

Exercise; Hearing Loss; Cardiovascular Diseases