Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation and Risk of Incident Hearing Loss.
Shruti Gupta, Sharon G Curhan, Gary C Curhan
PMID 30399011WHAT IT FOUND
In 9,079 women followed prospectively, plasma CRP, IL-6, and TNFR-2 were not associated with incident self-reported moderate or worse hearing loss.
Some age-specific TNFR-2 findings appeared, but authors said they could be chance.
Key findings
01The primary outcome, self-reported hearing loss that was moderate or worse, was not associated with plasma CRP, IL-6, or TNFR-2 overall.
02Among 7,891 women with measured CRP, 628 incident cases of moderate or worse hearing loss occurred during 100,277 person-years, with no significant association after adjustment.
03In NHS I, women aged ≥60 with TNFR-2 ≥3000 pg/mL had higher risk of moderate or worse hearing loss than women with TNFR-2 <2000 pg/mL (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.02–2.25), a subgroup result the authors said could be chance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The hearing outcome was self-reported rather than measured by audiometry. The study included mostly non-Hispanic white women, so the results may not apply to men or other racial groups. Not every participant had all three inflammatory markers measured, and NHS II had too few TNFR-2 incident cases for the primary analysis. The age-specific TNFR-2 findings were subgroup results, and the authors said they could be chance. Blood markers of systemic inflammation may not reflect inflammation inside the cochlea.
Declared interests
The study was listed as supported by NIH and non-U.S. government research support. One author reported no conflicts. Another author reported consulting for Decibel Therapeutics, and another reported grant support from Shoebox Audiometry.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that lowering inflammation will prevent hearing loss. The main result was no overall association between CRP, IL-6, or TNFR-2 and incident moderate or worse hearing loss, and the age-specific TNFR-2 findings were subgroup results the authors said could be chance.