Air Pollution Exposure and the Relative Risk of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Taipei

Chun-Gu Cheng, Yu-Hsuan Chen, Shang-Yih Yen, Hui-Chen Lin, Hung-Che Lin, Kuei-Ru Chou and Chun-An Cheng
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Chun-Gu Cheng: Department of Emergency, Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, Taoyuan 32549, Taiwan
Yu-Hsuan Chen: Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Taipei 11220, Taiwan
Shang-Yih Yen: Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Hui-Chen Lin: School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
Hung-Che Lin: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
Kuei-Ru Chou: School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
Chun-An Cheng: Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: (1) Background: The etiologies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) remain unclear. The level of mean particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) was not associated with SSHL, but the maximum PM2.5 level exhibited a negative association with SSHL in Korea. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) for 2 weeks increased the risk of SSHL. The lag effects of SSHL after air pollution exposure were limited. We aimed to evaluate the association of SSHL with air pollution exposure to determine whether air pollution exposure caused delayed effects. (2) Methods: This observational study used inpatient data obtained from electronic health records at the Tri-Service General Hospital from 2011 to 2019. The data of all SSHL patients were retrieved. The air quality dataset from Songshan station from 2011 to 2019 was used. The main outcomes were the relative risks (RRs) of SSHL associated with PM2.5, O 3 , and NO 2 exposures within 1 month. The relationships between these factors were examined using distributed lag nonlinear time series models. (3) Results: The RR of SSHL associated with PM2.5 exposure was 1.195 (95% confidence interval (C.I.: 1.047–1.363) for a 10 unit increase at a lag of 7 days. The RR of SSHL associated with O 3 exposure was 1.14 (95% C.I.: 1.003–1.3) for a 10 unit increase at a lag of 9 days. The RR of SSHL associated with NO 2 exposure was 1.284 (95% C.I.: 1.05–1.57) for a 10 unit increase at a lag of 23 days. (4) Conclusions: In our study, SSHL was confirmed to be associated with air pollution exposure with a lag effect. We discussed possible mechanisms to explore possible biological hypotheses and support further research. Large-scale studies including participants with other ethnicities and causal relationships are needed to confirm our findings.

Keywords: air pollution; sudden sensorineural hearing loss; lag effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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