Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Is Correlated with an Increased Risk of Stroke: An 11-Year Nationwide Population-Based Study / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (S-SNHL) occurs abruptly, developing rapidly within 3 days. The criteria for the diagnosis of S-SNHL are idiopathic hearing loss of at least 30 dB over at least three serial test frequencies. This study estimated whether S-SNHL increases the risk of stroke using Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC 2002-2013) data. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Among NHIS-NSC 2002-2013, we excluded the patients diagnosed as S-SNHL or stroke in 2002. The patients who were diagnosed and treated as S-SNHL (n=2510) and the comparison group (n=12550) extracted using propensity score matching were enrolled. During an 11-year follow-up period until December 2013, the incidence of stroke among two groups was analyzed and the result was adjusted for the impact of comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease with Cox proportional hazard regression. RESULTS: According to our data, 10.8% of S-SNHL patients (among 2510) and 7.8% of the comparison group (among 12550) had strokes. Stroke incidence was reported higher in patients with history of S-SNHL compared to the comparison group [hazard (HR), 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.32] followed by patients with hypertension (HR, 2.51; 95% CI, 2.22-2.84), diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.43-1.85). In terms of the type of strokes, S-SNHL increased the risk of ischemic stroke (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.02-1.37). CONCLUSION: S-SNHL appeared to be associated with an increased risk of developing stroke after adjusting for other risk factors.