Insulin Resistance is Associated with Chronic Laryngitis in Korean Women

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between chronic laryngitis (CL) and insulin resistance (IR) in South Korea using data from the 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES).

Cross-sectional data of 4,261 adults who completed KNHANES were analyzed. CL was considered when participants experienced a voice change and demonstrated flexible laryngoscopic findings of diffuse laryngeal inflammation. All participants were assessed for IR using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

Among the Korean population older than 19 years, the prevalence of chronic laryngitis was 3.8±0.7%. Univariate analysis demonstrated that CL was significantly associated with smoking and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in men and with age, diastolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, insulin, and HOMA-IR in women. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the mean value of HOMA-IR was significantly associated with CL in women only. In addition, CL was more prevalent in the highest compared with the lowest HOMA-IR quartile (OR [95% CI]: 2.268 [1.053-4.884] after adjusting for age, OR [95% CI]: 2.235 [1.040-6.181] after adjusting for confounding factors of age, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol intake, regular exercise, education, and income).

These findings indicate that IR characterized by HOMA-IR is significantly associated with CL in Korean women only. Our results suggest that HOMA-IR could be an early predictive factor of increased risk of CL in Korean women.