Table 1.
Characteristics of study population and presence of NIHL
| Study population (n = 365) |
Presence of NIHL (n = 125) |
Excluded population (n = 178) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | n (%) | Male n (%) | Female n (%) | n (%) | ||
| Age (y) | 35.55 (9.57) | |||||
| Sex | Male | 273 (74.8) | 148 (83.1) | |||
| Female | 92 (25.2) | 30 (16.9) | ||||
| Duration of service (y) | 14.75 (9.39) | |||||
| Presence of NIHL | 125 (34.2) | 103/273 (37.7) | 22/92 (23.9) | 60 (33.7) | ||
| Age group (y) | 20–29 | 125 (34.2) | 11 (10.7) | 1 (4.5) | 54 (30.3) | |
| 30–39 | 119 (32.6) | 42 (40.8) | 2 (9.1) | 60 (33.7) | ||
| 40–49 | 79 (21.6) | 35 (34.0) | 7 (31.8) | 40 (22.5) | ||
| 50–59 | 42 (11.5) | 15 (14.6) | 12 (54.5) | 24 (13.5) | ||
| Duration of service (y) | 10–15 | 206 (56.4) | 41 (39.8) | 1 (4.5) | 93 (52.2) | |
| 16–30 | 136 (37.2) | 52 (50.5) | 16 (72.7) | 67 (37.6) | ||
| 31–45 | 23 (6.3) | 10 (9.7) | 5 (22.7) | 18 (10.1) | ||
| Rank | APO | 159 (43.6) | 21 (16.8) | 2 (1.6) | 70 (39.3) | |
| PC | 71 (19.5) | 32 (25.6) | 2 (1.6) | 31 (17.4) | ||
| LCPL | 56 (15.3) | 15 (12) | 6 (4.8) | 33 (18.5) | ||
| CPL | 39 (10.7) | 17 (13.6) | 6 (4.8) | 19 (10.7) | ||
| SGT | 14 (3.8) | 4 (3.2) | 3 (2.4) | 7 (3.9) | ||
| S/SGT,SGT/MAJ | 16 (4.4) | 8 (6.4) | 1 (0.8) | 7 (3.9) | ||
| INSPECT | 10 (2.7) | 6 (4.8) | 2 (1.6) | 11 (6.2) | ||
| Use of ear defenders | Yes | 235 (64.4) | 64 (62.1) | 14 (63.6) | 128 (71.9) | |
| No | 130 (35.6) | 39 (37.9) | 8 (36.4) | 50 (28.1) | ||
| Smoking | Yes | 162 (44.3) | 60 (58.3) | 0 (0) | 94 (52.8) | |
| No | 203 (55.7) | 43 (41.7) | 22 (100) | 84 (47.2) | ||
| Alcohol consumption | Yes | 28 (7.7) | 9 (8.7) | 1 (4.5) | 21 (11.8) | |
| No | 337 (92.3) | 94 (91.3) | 21 (95.5) | 157 (88.2) | ||
| Diabetes mellitus∗ | Yes | 33 (9) | 13 (12.6) | 5 (22.7) | 18 (10.1) | |
| No | 332 (91) | 90 (87.4) | 17 (77.3) | 160 (89.9) | ||
| Hypertension† | Yes | 58 (15.9) | 27 (26.2) | 8 (36.4) | 29 (16.3) | |
| No | 307 (84.1) | 76 (73.8) | 14 (63.6) | 149 (83.7) | ||
| Hypercholesterolaemia‡ | Yes | 138 (37.8) | 39 (37.9) | 11 (50.0) | 52 (29.2) | |
| No | 227 (62.2) | 64 (62.1) | 11 (50.0) | 126 (70.8) | ||
APO, Additional Police Officer; BP, blood pressure; CPL, Corporal; INSPECT, Inspector; LCPL, Lance Corporal; NIHL, noise-induced hearing loss; PC, Police Constable; SGT, Sergeant; SGT/MAJ, Sergeant Major; S/SGT, Staff Sergeant.
∗
Diabetes mellitus—fasting venous blood glucose level ≥ 7.0 mmol/L [12].
†
Hypertension—BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg [13].
‡
Hypercholesterolemia—total fasting cholesterol ≥ 5.17 mmol/L [14].