65세 이상의 한국 성인에서 노인성 난청의 위험 인자 분석:

Risk Factors of Age-related Hearing Loss, Adults over 65 Years in Korea:

Background: Age-induced hearing loss (AIHL) is sensorineural hearing deterioration in association with aging. Although AIHL shows high incidence worldwide, the risk factors for AIHL have not been evaluated deeply in Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk factors for AIHL in Korean adults, specifically including the cohorts who had experiences participating wars. Methods: We analyzed data from medical checkup in Daejeon Veteran Hospital. Total enrolled patients were 509 (male: 346, female: 163). The patients’ age was 71.1±5.0 (mean±standard deviation). We analyzed the correlation between hearing impairment and possible risk factors for the incidence including sex, age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, renal failure, hypercholesterolemia, smoking history, alcohol intake, and participation of war. We performed logistic regression to find the best model to explain the risk factors for AIHL. Results: When we evaluated the risk factors for AIHL in men and women, separately, it was found that age was strongly associated with AIHL incidence in both men and women. While there was no significant factor that increased the incidence of AIHL in men, hypertension history was a significant risk factor for AIHL in women. Notably, the experience of war did not affect the incidence of AIHL, indicating that war experience does not increase the risk of AIHL. Conclusion: Hearing impairment in Korean adults is strongly associated with aging and specifically, hypertension history is the risk factor for AIHL in Korean female adults.