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  • Gallstone is correlated with an increased risk of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a retrospective cohort study

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Ear, nose and throat/otolaryngology
Research
Gallstone is correlated with an increased risk of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a retrospective cohort study
  1. Chong-Chi Chiu1,2,
  2. Kuan-Ji Lee3,
  3. Shih-Feng Weng4,5,
  4. Yuan-Ming Yang3,
  5. Yung-Song Lin3,6,7
  1. 1Department of General Surgery, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan and Liouying, Taiwan
  2. 2Department of Electrical Engineering, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan, Taiwan
  3. 3Department of Otolaryngology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan City, Taiwan
  4. 4Department of Medical Research, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan City, Taiwan
  5. 5Department of Hospital and Health Care Administration, Chia-Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan City, Taiwan
  6. 6Center of General education, Southern Taiwan University of Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan
  7. 7Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
  1. Correspondence to Dr Yung-Song Lin; kingear{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Objectives This study aims to test the hypothesis that gallstone disease (GSD) is a risk factor for the development of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). Research has shown risks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in patients with GSD; however, well-conducted English studies on the association between GSD and the development of ISSNHL are lacking.

Design and setting Retrospective cohort study using the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database.

Participants We compared 26 449 patients diagnosed with GSD between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2007, with 52 898 age-matched, gender-matched and comorbidities propensity scores-matched controls.

Outcome measured We followed each patient until the end of 2011 and evaluated the incidence of ISSNHL for at least 4 years after the initial GSD diagnosis.

Results The incidence of ISSNHL was 1.42 times higher in the GS cohort than in the non-GS cohort (9.27 vs 6.52/10 000 person-years). Using Cox proportional hazard regressions, the adjusted HR was 1.44 (95% CI 1.19 to 1.74). In the cohort of patients with GSD who needed a cholecystectomy, 37 patients suffered from ISSNHL. Among those patients, 31 (83.7%) patients sustained ISSNHL before cholecystectomy and 6 (16.2%) patients sustained ISSNHL after cholecystectomy.

Conclusions A diagnosis of GSD may be an independent risk for ISSNHL. This finding suggests that an underlying vascular and inflammatory mechanism may contribute to the development of ISSNHL. Physicians may want to counsel patients with GSD to seek medical attention if they have hearing impairments, because patients may be at an increased risk of developing ISSNHL.

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009018

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