Medicine (Baltimore). 2026 Aug 7;105(32):e50087. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000050087.
ABSTRACT
The interconnections between hearing loss, tinnitus, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remain incompletely elucidated. This study sought to investigate the associations of ASCVD prevalence with hearing loss and tinnitus. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015-2018), encompassing 19,225 US adults aged 20 years and older in this cross-sectional study. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to examine potential links between ASCVD and both hearing loss and tinnitus. Moreover, we performed subgroup analyses and interaction tests to explore if the relationship was stable in different subgroups. Among 4320 adults included in this study (mean age, 49.8 ± 17.5 years), 452 (10.5%) had ASCVD and 3868 (89.5%) did not have ASCVD. Compared with participants without hearing loss, those with hearing loss had a higher prevalence of ASCVD (unadjusted odds ratio [OR] = 3.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.96-4.42, P < .001; adjusted OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.18-1.88, P < .001). Similarly, tinnitus was independently associated with higher odds of ASCVD (unadjusted OR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.92-2.99, P < .001; adjusted OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.27-2.09, P < .001). This study of US adults revealed robust associations between hearing loss, tinnitus, and ASCVD prevalence.
PMID:42566607 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000050087