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A case-control study on high-risk factors for newborn hearing loss in seven cities of Shandong province
Wenying Nie1, Hanrong Wu, Yisheng Qi
1Department of Child and Adolescent Health & Maternal and Child Health Care, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. goodddd@163.com
Insights
High-risk factors for newborn hearing loss include parity, neonatal disease, and family history. Early intervention for these factors can help prevent or delay bilateral hearing loss in infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Genetics
- Public Health
Background:
- Newborn hearing loss affects infant development.
- Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) identifies infants needing further evaluation.
- Identifying high-risk factors is crucial for prevention and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify high-risk factors for bilateral hearing loss in neonates.
- To inform strategies for preventing and delaying hearing loss progression.
- To analyze risk factors using a case-control study design.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted with 177 neonates confirmed with hearing loss.
- Data were collected from May 2003 to June 2006 in Shandong province.
- Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate risk factors.
Main Results:
- Parity, neonatal disease, and family history of congenital hearing loss were significant risk factors.
- Lower birth weight was associated with a reduced risk of hearing loss (OR=0.241).
- Independent risk factors identified were parity (OR=16.285), neonatal disease (OR=34.968), and family history (OR=69.488).
Conclusions:
- Parity, neonatal disease, and family history of hearing loss are significant promoting factors.
- Targeted interventions addressing these risk factors are recommended for neonates.
- Early identification and management can mitigate the impact of hearing loss on infants.
Abstract:
To investigate the high-risk factors for newborn hearing loss and to provide information for preventing the development of hearing loss and delaying its progression, from May 2003 to June 2006, neonates who failed to pass the universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) were referred to Jinan Newborn Hearing Screening and Rehabilitation Center from 7 newborn hearing screening centers in seven cities of Shandong province. One-to-one pair-matched case-control method was employed for statistical analysis of the basic features of definitely identified cases. High-risk factors relating to the bilateral hearing loss were evaluated by univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Our results revealed that 721 transferred newborns who didn't pass the hearing screening received audiological and medical evaluation and 367 were confirmed to have hearing loss. Of them, 177 neonates with hearing loss who met the matching requirements were included in the study as subjects. Univariate analysis showed that high-risk factors related to hearing loss incuded age of father, education backgrounds of parents, parity, birth weight, gestational weeks, craniofacial deformity, history of receiving treatment in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), neonatal disease, family history of otopathy and family history of congenital hearing loss. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that 4 independent risk factors were related to bilateral hearing loss, including parity (OR=16.285, 95% CI 3.379-78.481), neonatal disease (OR=34.968, 95% CI 2.720-449.534), family history of congenital hearing loss (OR=69.488, 95% CI 4.417-1093.300) and birth weight (OR=0.241, 95% CI 0.090-0.648). It is concluded that parity, neonatal disease and family history of hearing loss are the promoting factors of bilateral hearing loss in neonates and appropriate intervention measures should be taken to deal with the risk factors.
