Jackson Heart Study: Aggregate cardiovascular disease risk and auditory profiles.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Cardiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are prevalent in African Americans.
• Cochlear function, assessed via hearing loss and otoacoustic emissions, may be affected by systemic health.
• Understanding these relationships is crucial for early detection and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between cardiovascular disease risk factors and cochlear function in African Americans.
• To determine if specific CVD risk factors or overall CVD risk burden relate to hearing impairment or cochlear dysfunction.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of 1106 participants from the Jackson Heart Study.
• Hearing loss defined as pure-tone average > 15 dB HL.
• Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) measured at various frequencies to assess cochlear function.
• Participants categorized into CVD risk groups (0, 1, 2, or ≥3 risk factors).
• Logistic regression used to estimate odds of hearing loss and absent/reduced DPOAEs.

Main Results:

• Diabetes was significantly associated with an increased odds of hearing loss (OR = 1.48).
• No statistically significant relationships were found between individual CVD risk factors (smoking, cholesterol, blood pressure) and hearing loss.
• Neither individual CVD risk factors nor overall CVD risk burden were significantly associated with reduced DPOAEs, indicating no clear link to cochlear dysfunction.

Conclusions:

• Diabetes is a significant risk factor for hearing loss in this African American cohort.
• Current major cardiovascular disease risk factors, individually or combined, do not appear to be directly associated with cochlear dysfunction as measured by DPOAEs in this population.