Table 4.
Associations between Mediterranean Diet Score and low-frequency hearing loss† using multivariable logistic regression models among participants aged 50 years or older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2000–2006 and 2009–2012, by sex (n 1639)
| Independent variable | Men (n 755) | Women (n 884) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model 1‡ | Model 2§ | Model 1‡ | Model 2§ | |||||
| OR | 95 % CI | OR | 95 % CI | OR | 95 % CI | OR | 95 % CI | |
| Mediterranean Diet Score | ||||||||
| ≤3 (reference) | 1·00 | – | 1·00 | – | 1·00 | – | 1·00 | – |
| >3 | 2·24** | 1·28, 3·92 | 2·63** | 1·39, 4·95 | 0·60 | 0·38, 1·06 | 0·79 | 0·42, 1·50 |
| Age (years) | 1·15*** | 1·10, 1·19 | 1·14*** | 1·10, 1·19 | 1·14*** | 1·10, 1·15 | 1·14*** | 1·11, 1·18 |
| Total energy intake (kcal) | 1·00 | 1·00, 1·00 | 1·00 | 1·00, 1·00 | 1·00 | 1·00, 1·00 | 1·00 | 1·00, 1·00 |
| Race | ||||||||
| Non-Hispanic White (reference) | – | – | 1·00 | – | – | – | 1·00 | – |
| Non-Hispanic Black | – | – | 0·49* | 0·25, 0·97 | – | – | 0·80 | 0·42, 1·50 |
| Hispanic | – | – | 0·94 | 0·42, 2·10 | – | – | 0·38** | 0·21, 0·70 |
| Other | – | – | 1·28 | 0·28, 5·93 | – | – | 0·57 | 0·22, 1·43 |
| Education | ||||||||
| High school or less (reference) | – | – | 1·00 | – | – | – | 1·00 | – |
| Some college | – | – | 0·50* | 0·27, 0·91 | – | – | 0·94 | 0·50, 1·78 |
| College graduate | – | – | 0·59 | 0·24, 1·44 | – | – | 0·37* | 0·17, 0·81 |
| Family income to poverty ratio | – | – | 0·78* | 0·62, 0·99 | – | – | 0·96 | 0·82, 1·13 |
| Physical activity level | ||||||||
| No moderate or vigorous (reference) | – | – | 1·00 | – | – | – | 1·00 | – |
| Moderate | – | – | 1·51 | 0·81, 2·80 | – | – | 0·66 | 0·30, 1·45 |
| Vigorous | – | – | 1·12 | 0·52, 2·46 | – | – | 0·65 | 0·19, 2·23 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | ||||||||
| <25 (reference) | – | – | 1·00 | – | – | – | 1·00 | – |
| 25–29·9 | – | – | 0·74 | 0·34, 1·65 | – | – | 1·22 | 0·60, 2·48 |
| ≥30 | – | – | 0·81 | 0·29, 2·25 | – | – | 0·85 | 0·46, 1·56 |
| Current smoking status | – | – | 1·03 | 0·62, 1·72 | – | – | 1·08 | 0·44, 2·70 |
| Chronic health conditions (hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes) | – | – | 0·87 | 0·40, 1·90 | – | – | 0·51* | 0·27, 0·97 |
| Noise exposure (recreational, firearm and occupational) | – | – | 1·83 | 0·84, 3·96 | – | – | 1·65 | 0·82, 3·35 |
| Veteran status | – | – | 0·90 | 0·48, 1·69 | – | – | 0·67 | 0·12, 3·81 |
*P < 0·05, **P < 0·01, ***P < 0·001.
†
Low-frequency hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average at low frequencies (0·5, 1 and 2 kHz) >25 dB.
‡
Adjusted for age and total energy intake.
§
Further adjusted for race, education, family income to poverty ratio, physical activity level, BMI, current smoking status, chronic health conditions, noise exposure and veteran status.