The association between kidney function decline and hearing loss: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background The relationship between kidney function and hearing loss has long been recognized, but evidence mostly come from small observational studies. The aim of this study is to explore the association between kidney function decline and hearing loss in a large population-based study.Methods Data collected in the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2015 was used for analysis. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 12508 participants aged 45 years and older. Hearing loss, the outcome of this study, was defined based on interviewees' responses to three survey questions about hearing in the CHARLS study. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was employed to assess kidney function, and participants were classified into three categories based on eGFR: ≥ 90, 60-89 and < 60 mL/min/1.73m2. Multivariable Logistic regression was employed to adjust for potential confounders, including demographics, health related behaviors, and cardiovascular risk factors.Results The overall prevalence of self-reported hearing loss in the study population was 23.55%. Compared with participants having eGFR ≥ 90 mL/min/1.73m2, there was an increased risk of hearing loss among those participants with eGFR of 60-89 mL/min/1.73m2 (odds ratio: 1.11, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.22) and eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m2 (odds ratio: 1.26, 95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.51) after adjusting for potential confounders.Conclusions Kidney function decline was independently associated with hearing loss.Testing for hearing should be included in the integrated management among patients with chronic kidney disease. BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) reported that around 432 million adults suffer from disabling hearing loss in 2018, and it is estimated that over 900 million people will have disabling hearing loss by 2050 [1]. Hearing loss in adults not only bring communication difficulties in daily life, but also have negative impacts on cognitive and psychosocial function, lead to social isolation, cause financial strain and finally lower health-related quality of life indirectly [2][3][4]. As most hearing loss are acquired and hard to get recovered, but could be prevented, exploring the risk factors of hearing loss has great significance.