Data from: Lipid profiles and obesity as potential risk factors of sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Objectives: The objective of our study was to establish whether increased
lipid profiles and obesity affect the prevalence and prognosis of sudden
sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Methods: This was a case-controlled
study with a longitudinal design. According to our criteria, 324 patients
with SSNHL were included in this study. To manage potential covariates,
972 subjects with normal hearing from the Korean National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey were matched as control group according to
their propensity scores. Age, level of total cholesterol (TC), high
density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), and body mass index (BMI) were
obtained from the clinical data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis
was used to investigate the association between SSNHL and lipid profiles
or obesity in the 1296 subjects. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was
used to determine whether lipid profiles and obesity are prognostic
factors in patients with SSNHL. Results: Mean body weight, BMI, TC, and TG
were significantly higher in patients with SSNHL compared with control
subjects (p<0.05). However, LDL-C values did not differ
significantly between the two groups. Subjects with elevated TC and TG
levels had a 2.20- (95% CI 1.50–3.24) and 1.50-fold (95% CI 1.08–2.08)
increased odds, respectively, of SSNHL compared with subjects with normal
TC and TG levels. Subjects with grade III BMI had a 1.59-fold (95% CI
1.17–2.16) increased odds of SSNHL. Multivariate Cox regression analyses
revealed that BMI was an independent risk factor of treatment outcome, as
patients with BMI ≥27.5 were less likely to achieve complete recovery than
those with BMI <27.5 (p<0.05). Conclusions: The results of
this study revealed that elevated TC and TG levels and increased BMI are
significantly associated with the prevalence of SSNHL and its prognosis,
indicating that vascular compromise may play an important role in the
pathogenesis of SSNHL.