Markers of Overall Nutritional Status and Incident Hearing Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Japanese: The Kurabuchi Study.
To examine the association between four markers of overall nutritional status (a serum biomarker (albumin) and three anthropometric indices (body mass index (BMI), midarm circumference (MAC), calf circumference (CC))) and incident hearing impairment in older Japanese adults.



Community-based prospective cohort study.



Kurabuchi Town, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.



Individuals aged 65 and older (143 men, 195 women) without hearing impairment at baseline examination (2005-06) who participated in repeated examinations 4 years later (2009-10) (N = 338).



The three anthropometric indices were measured at baseline, and nephelometry was used to assess serum albumin levels. Hearing impairment was defined as failure to hear a 30-dB hearing level signal at 1 kHz and a 40-dB signal at 4 kHz in the better ear on pure-tone audiometry.



Over the 4-year period, 16.3% of participants developed hearing impairment. Those with lower marker values had greater risk of hearing impairment than those with higher marker values (multivariable adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-4.57 for albumin ≤4.0 g/dL; aOR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.10-6.71 for BMI <19.0 kg/m(2) ). The pattern of association showed a similar tendency for MAC and CC. Excluding obese participants did not changed the results substantially.



Further research is needed to determine whether interventions that improve markers of nutritional status may help prevent age-related hearing loss in older adults.
Environmental Epidemiology Section, Centre for Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan.|Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Takehiro
T
Michikawa
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan.
Takahiro
T
Nakamura
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan.
Haruhiko
H
Imamura
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, National Defense Medical College, Saitama, Japan.
Kunio
K
Mizutari
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Hideyuki
H
Saito
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Toru
T
Takebayashi
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuji
Y
Nishiwaki
D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D015415:Biomarkers; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000033:anatomy & histology
D015415:Biomarkers; D012709:Serum Albumin
age-related hearing loss; aged; albumin; body mass index; cohort study