Association Between Body Roundness Index and Hearing Loss: A Cross-Sectional Study of NHANES

To examine the association between the body roundness index (BRI), a novel anthropometric measure of central obesity, and hearing loss in US adults.

Cross-sectional study.

Nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2012 and 2015 to 2018 cycles.

A total of 5143 adults aged ≥20 years with complete audiometric and anthropometric data were included. BRI was calculated from waist circumference and height. Hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average threshold ≥20 dB in the better ear across 0.5 to 4 kHz. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the association between BRI and hearing loss, adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical covariates. Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to explore non-linear trends.

Among the 5143 participants (mean [SD] age, 47.9 [17.2] years; 50.2% male; mean [SD] BRI, 5.4 [2.3]), higher BRI was associated with an increased risk of hearing loss. In fully adjusted models, participants in the highest BRI quartile had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.49 (95% CI, 0.99-2.26; P = .008) compared to those in the lowest quartile. When BRI was treated as a continuous variable, each 1-SD increase in BRI was associated with an OR of 1.08 (95% CI, 1.02-1.15; P = .008) for hearing loss.

Higher BRI is independently associated with an increased risk of hearing loss among US adults. These findings highlight a potential link between obesity and auditory health and suggest that BRI may aid in identifying individuals at higher risk for hearing impairment.