Objectives: To explore the associations of air pollutants and Air Quality Index (AQI) with risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) DESIGN: Cross-sectional study SETTING: Medical record data and local population data collected between 2014 and 2022 in Changshu, China were retrospectively reviewed.
Participants: Adults aged 18 years and above who were diagnosed with SSNHL in Changshu No. 1 People's Hospital or Changshu No. 2 People's Hospital from the spring of 2014 to the fall of 2022 were included in the study.
Outcome measure: SSNHL was diagnosed by clinicians using the Chinese diagnostic criteria for SSNHL.
Results: Compared with those exposed to the lowest tertile of carbon monoxide (CO), the prevalence ratio for those exposed to middle and high tertiles of CO were 1.113 (95% CI 1.022 to 1.213) and 1.230 (95% CI 1.105 to 1.369), respectively. The risk of SSNHL was increased by 30.6% (95% CI 9.9% to 55.4%) per doubling increment of CO. No categorical association was found between ozone (O3) exposure and risk of SSNHL, however, an increased risk of 22.2% (0.8%-48.2%) was identified for each doubling of O3. No association was identified between other pollutants and AQI and risk of SSNHL.
Conclusions: In this study, CO and O3 were associated with an increased risk of SSNHL in Changshu, China. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings.
Keywords: China; adult otolaryngology; audiology; health.
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