Abstract
Objectives
The experimental studies suggested the hypothesis that the accumulation of advanced
glycation end-products (AGEs) could induce hearing impairment. The purpose of this
study is to examine the hypothesis among elderly people using an epidemiologic approach.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
Sukagawa City, Fukushima, Japan.
Participants
A total of 270 residents aged 75 years or over without dementia, who participated
in a health check-up conducted in 2015.
Measurements
The exposure variable was AGEs, which was assessed using skin autofluorescence (AF)
as a proxy measure. The primary outcome was moderate hearing impairment or worse,
which was defined as a pure tone average of thresholds ≥41 decibel hearing level at
0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz in the better-hearing ear. The secondary outcome was the pure
tone average of thresholds as a continuous variable. We estimated the odds ratio using
a logistic regression model for the primary outcome and a general linear model for
the mean difference in the pure tone average of thresholds for the secondary outcome.
Both models were adjusted for relevant confounding factors: age, sex, smoking, diabetes,
hypertension, and history of cerebrovascular diseases.
Results
The median (interquartile range) AF was 2.2 (2.0, 2.5) arbitrary units (AU). Moderate
hearing impairment was reported in 88 participants (32.6%). For the primary outcome,
we found significant associations between moderate hearing impairment and AF (adjusted
odds ratio per 1 AU, 2.60; 95% confidence interval 1.26–5.35). For the secondary outcome,
we also found a significant association between a 1-AU increase in AF and increased
pure tone average, with a difference (6.52 dB per 1 AU; 95% confidence interval 2.18–10.86)
comparable in magnitude to the increase in pure tone average observed for a 6-year
increase in age in our population.
Conclusions
Our study indicated that high levels of AGEs were independently associated with hearing
impairment. Modifying levels of AGEs may prevent hearing impairment.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 24, 2017
Identification
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© 2017 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
