Abstract
PurposeTo examine the associations of specific dietary fats with the risk of disabling hearing impairment in the UK Biobank study.MethodsThis cohort study investigated 105,592 participants (47,308 men and 58,284 women) aged ≥ 40 years. Participants completed a minimum of one valid 24-h recall (Oxford Web-Q). Dietary intake of total fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), saturated fatty acids (SFA), and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was assessed at baseline. Functional auditory capacity was measured with a digit triplet test (DTT), and disabling hearing impairment was defined as a speech reception threshold in noise > − 3.5 dB in any physical exam performed during the follow-up.ResultsOver a median follow-up of 3.2 (SD: 2.1) years, 832 men and 872 women developed disabling hearing impairment. After adjustment for potential confounders, including lifestyles, exposure to high-intensity sounds, ototoxic medication and comorbidity, the hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence interval (CI) of disabling hearing function, comparing extreme quintiles of intakes were 0.91 (0.71–1.17) for total fat, 1.09 (0.83–1.44) for PUFA, 0.85 (0.64–1.13) for SFA and 1.01 (0.74–1.36) for MUFA among men. Among women, HRs comparing extreme intakes were 0.98 (0.78–1.24) for total fat, 0.69 (0.53–0.91) for PUFA, 1.26 (0.96–1.65) for SFA, and 0.91 (0.68–1.23) for MUFA. Replacing 5% of energy intake from SFA with an equivalent energy from PUFA was associated with 25% risk reduction (HR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.74–0.77) among women.ConclusionsPUFA intake was associated with decreased risk of disabling hearing function in women, but not in men.
Highlights
Hearing loss is one of the main leading causes of years lived with disability; it has been considered an “invisible disability”, since it is usually underestimated in comparison with other health problems [1]
Women with the highest polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) intake and < 60 y, without tinnitus, with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/. In this large population-based cohort study, we found that energy intake > 15% from PUFA was associated with lower risk of disabling hearing impairment among women
Gopinath et al [17], using data of 2000 participants in the Blue Mountains Hearing Study, found that higher increase in n-3 PUFA was associated with reduced incident hearing loss
Summary
Hearing loss is one of the main leading causes of years lived with disability; it has been considered an “invisible disability”, since it is usually underestimated in comparison with other health problems [1]. Besides age-associated biological degeneration and noise exposure, one mechanism of hearing loss is impaired vascular function. High intake of some nutrients, such as β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin D, and magnesium, have been associated with lower risk of hearing. Three studies have focused on the effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). They found that a higher intake of n-3 PUFA was associated with decreased hearing loss risk [16,17,18]. A cross-sectional study found that low fat and protein intakes were associated with hearing impairment [19]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
