Association between a High-Potassium Diet and Hearing Thresholds in the Korean Adult Population

Da Jung Jung,Jae Young Lee,Jun Young Do,Kyu Hyang Cho,Kyu-Yup Lee,Seok Hui Kang

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45930-5

Da Jung Jung, Jae Young Lee + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45930-5

Copy DOI

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine and evaluate the association between potassium intake and hearing thresholds in the Korean adult population. Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Participants were divided into tertiles on the basis of their potassium intake as follows: low, middle, and high. Pure-tone audiometry was performed using an automated audiometer. We calculated as the average threshold at the low-frequency pure-tone average (0.5 and 1 kHz), mid-frequency pure-tone average (2 and 3 kHz), and high-frequency pure-tone average (4 and 6 kHz). The average hearing threshold (AHT) was calculated as the pure-tone average of the thresholds at 0.5~3 kHz. Hearing loss (HL) was defined as an AHT of >40 dB in the better ear. There were 1975 participants each in the low, middle, and high tertile groups. The four different average hearing thresholds significantly decreased with an increase in the potassium intake tertile. Multivariate analysis revealed that the four different average hearing thresholds were significantly lower in the high tertile group than in the other two groups. In addition, univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses showed that the potassium intake level was inversely associated with each of the four different average hearing thresholds. Analyses of participants matched based on propensity scores and participants not matched based on propensity scores yielded similar results. The results of this study suggest that high potassium intake levels were associated with a lower prevalence of HL and lower hearing thresholds in the Korean adult population.

Highlights

Microvascular injury to the cochlea is one of the primary causes of HL12
The mean age was higher for men than for women, and the proportion of participants with diabetes mellitus (DM) or HTN was higher among the men than among the women
The proportion of participants with HTN and that of participants with DM were higher in the low tertile group than in the high tertile group

Summary

Introduction

Hwang et al showed that mice with diet-induced obesity had blood vessels with a smaller diameter and thicker walls in the stria vascularis, and this led to hearing impairment[13]. Previous studies showed that various cardiovascular diseases are associated with HL through microvascular injury to the cochlea[19,20,21,22]. As high-potassium diets are negatively associated with cardiovascular complications, they may be associated with a decrease in microvascular injury to the cochlea and, a decrease in the incidence of HL. Previous studies demonstrated that a high-potassium diet is associated with an increase in serum aldosterone levels, which prevents hearing impairment through upregulation of Na+-K+ ATPase and Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC1)[23,24,25,26,27]. We conducted the present study to determine and evaluate the association between potassium intake and hearing thresholds in the Korean adult population

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion