Table 1. Basic characteristics of patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss and controls.
| Variable | Frequency (%) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSHL | Controls | ||
| (n = 514) | (n = 2,570) | ||
| Age (years) | 0.141 | ||
| mean (std dev) | 54.0 (15.8) | 52.9 (15.6) | |
| minimum, maximum | 20, 91 | 20, 96 | |
| Sex | > 0.999 | ||
| male | 288 (56.0) | 1,440 (56.0) | |
| female | 226 (44.0) | 1,130 (44.0) | |
| Urbanization level of patient's residence 1 | 0.204 | ||
| 1 (most urbanized) | 146 (29.0) | 730 (28.9) | |
| 2 | 145 (28.8) | 709 (28.1) | |
| 3 | 78 (15.5) | 496 (19.6) | |
| 4 | 81 (16.1) | 370 (14.6) | |
| 5 (less urbanized) | 53 (10.5) | 221 (8.7) | |
| Tertile of insured amount 2 | 0.461 | ||
| 1 (lowest) | 227 (44.2) | 1,213 (47.2) | |
| 2 | 157 (30.6) | 736 (28.6) | |
| 3 (highest) | 129 (25.1) | 620 (24.1) | |
SSHL: sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
1Eleven cases and 44 controls had missing information on the urbanization levels and 1 case and 1 control had missing information on the insured amount.
2Lower and upper cut-points for the median insured amount are New Taiwan $18,300 and 24,000, respectively.