title: Cardiovascular risk factors and hearing loss: The HUNT study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present paper was to examine the association between prospectively and cross-sectionally assessed cardiovascular risk factors and hearing loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hearing was assessed by pure-tone average thresholds at low (0.25-0.5 kHz), middle (1-2 kHz), and high (3-8 kHz) frequencies. Self-reported or measured cardiovascular risk factors were assessed both 11 years before and simultaneously with the audiometric assessment. Cardiovascular risk factors were smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity, waist circumference, body mass index, resting heart rate, blood pressure, triglycerides, total serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based cohort of 31 547 subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjustment for age, sex, level of education, income, recurrent ear infections, and noise exposure, risk factors associated with poorer hearing sensitivity were smoking, diabetes, physical inactivity, resting heart rate, and waist circumference. Smoking was only associated with hearing loss at high frequencies. The effects were very small, in combination explaining only 0.2-0.4% of the variance in addition to the component explained by age and the other cofactors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This cohort study indicates that, although many cardiovascular risk factors are associated with hearing loss, the effects are small and of doubtful clinical relevance.
authors.affiliation: a Division of Mental Health , Norwegian Institute of Public Health , Nydalen , Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Engdahl
authors.affiliation: a Division of Mental Health , Norwegian Institute of Public Health , Nydalen , Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aarhus
authors.affiliation: b National Institute of Occupational Health , Department of Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology , Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Arve
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lie
authors.affiliation: a Division of Mental Health , Norwegian Institute of Public Health , Nydalen , Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tambs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000209:etiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000209:etiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009664:Norway; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D055105:Waist Circumference
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: Epidemiology; alcohol; blood lipids; blood pressure; body mass index; diabetes; hearing loss; physical activity; smoking