Systemic Inflammatory Indices and Hearing Loss in U.S. Adults Aged 40-85 Years: A Serial Cross-Sectional Study 1999-2020.
6 affiliations
- 1Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia.
- 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Heze Municipal Hospital, Heze, China.
- 3Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital, Xining, China.
- 4School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia.
- 5Department of Bioinformatics, Thrive Bioresearch, Beijing, China.
- 6Medical Research Center, Jinan Maternity and Child Care Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China.
Abstract
Objective
Systemic inflammatory indices, linked to immunosenescence-related diseases, have not been thoroughly studied in hearing loss. This study aimed to determine whether systemic inflammatory indices are associated with hearing loss in midlife and later life.Methods
This serial cross-sectional, community-based investigation was conducted within the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2020 in United States. Hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average of ≥ 20 decibel hearing level at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz in the better ear. Six systemic inflammatory indices included systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte monocyte ratio (LMR). Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) derived from modified Poisson regression models (with adjustment for potential confounding factors) represented the associations between each systemic inflammatory index and hearing loss.Results
A total of 7920 adults aged 40-85 years were included. The mean (standard deviation) age was 58.6 (11.8) years, 4310 (54.4%) were women, and 2262 (28.6%) had hearing loss. After adjustment, hearing loss was associated with SIRI (PR 1.14, 95% CI, 1.08-1.20), SII (PR 1.07, 95% CI, 1.02-1.13), PIV (PR 1.11, 95% CI, 1.06-1.16), NLR (PR 1.10 95% CI, 1.04-1.17), and LMR (PR 0.87, 95% CI, 0.81-0.94).Conclusion
This study provides insights into the associations between systemic inflammatory indices and hearing loss, offering potential implications for risk stratification. While these indices are potential indicators for chronic inflammation in adults with hearing loss, further external validations are needed.
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BibTeX
@article{zheng2026systemic,
title = {{Systemic Inflammatory Indices and Hearing Loss in U.S. Adults Aged 40-85 Years: A Serial Cross-Sectional Study 1999-2020.}},
author = {Yulu Zheng and Zheng Guo and Lei Zhao and Xingguo Peng and Yahong Zhu and Guangle Shan and Tingting Li and Xingang Li},
journal = {Immunity, inflammation and disease},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/iid3.70576},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958623},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Systemic Inflammatory Indices and Hearing Loss in U.S. Adults Aged 40-85 Years: A Serial Cross-Sectional Study 1999-2020.
AU - Yulu Zheng
AU - Zheng Guo
AU - Lei Zhao
AU - Xingguo Peng
AU - Yahong Zhu
AU - Guangle Shan
AU - Tingting Li
AU - Xingang Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Immunity, inflammation and disease
DO - 10.1002/iid3.70576
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958623
AB - Objective Systemic inflammatory indices, linked to immunosenescence-related diseases, have not been thoroughly studied in hearing loss. This study aimed to determine whether systemic inflammatory indices are associated with hearing loss in midlife and later life.Methods This serial cross-sectional, community-based investigation was conducted within the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2020 in United States. Hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average of ≥ 20 decibel hearing level at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz in the better ear. Six systemic inflammatory indices included systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte monocyte ratio (LMR). Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) derived from modified Poisson regression models (with adjustment for potential confounding factors) represented the associations between each systemic inflammatory index and hearing loss.Results A total of 7920 adults aged 40-85 years were included. The mean (standard deviation) age was 58.6 (11.8) years, 4310 (54.4%) were women, and 2262 (28.6%) had hearing loss. After adjustment, hearing loss was associated with SIRI (PR 1.14, 95% CI, 1.08-1.20), SII (PR 1.07, 95% CI, 1.02-1.13), PIV (PR 1.11, 95% CI, 1.06-1.16), NLR (PR 1.10 95% CI, 1.04-1.17), and LMR (PR 0.87, 95% CI, 0.81-0.94).Conclusion This study provides insights into the associations between systemic inflammatory indices and hearing loss, offering potential implications for risk stratification. While these indices are potential indicators for chronic inflammation in adults with hearing loss, further external validations are needed.
SN - 2050-4527
ER -