Year:
Applicant:
Institution:
Email:
paul.mick@usask.ca
Project ID:
2002002
Approved Project Status:
Project Summary
Diabetes and hearing loss are very common. Hearing loss may be caused by poor glycemic control (i.e., high blood sugar levels) because of damage to blood vessels in the inner ear. At the population level, the degree to which hearing loss complicates poor glycemic control is unknown. Our study will determine if higher average blood sugar levels (i.e., hemoglobin A1c levels) are associated with developing hearing loss over a 3-year period among 30,000 generally healthy older adults participating in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Our statistical models will adjust for factors (e.g., age, socioeconomic status, cardiovascular disease) that might otherwise explain correlations between blood sugar levels and hearing loss. Males and females will be assessed separately. We will determine if other factors affect the associations. The results will inform clinical decision making for and by patients with diabetes and hearing loss, public health efforts around, and future research.
Project Findings
The objectives of the study were to determine if risk factors for cardiometabolic disease were associated with hearing loss. Hearing function was determined by measuring the quietest tones that participants could hear in both ears. Diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity and blood pressure were determined using clinical measurements, blood tests, and/or questionnaire responses. Two composite measures of cardiovascular risk (i.e., scores combining all of the risk factors) were also constructed. We determined the degree to which each cardiometabolic variable was associated with hearing ability at baseline, and with faster rates of hearing decline over 3 years of follow-up. Results are as follows:
• Risk factors associated with faster rates of hearing loss over time: Hypertension; composite cardiometabolic risk scores (both sexes); smoking (males); obesity (females).
• Risk factors associated with worse hearing at baseline: Smoking, obesity, diabetes, composite cardiometabolic risk scores (both sexes; although for females, obesity was only associated with hearing loss in the 55-64-year-old group).
Further studies are needed to confirm age and sex differences and whether interventions to address these risk factors could slow the progression of hearing loss in older adults.
