Table 3. ORs (95% CIs) for hearing lossa by blood lead levels (n = 7,596).
| Variables | No. with hearing loss / no. of participants | (%) | Model Ab | Model Bc | Model Cd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood lead | ||||||
| Per 1 μg/dL increasing of blood lead level | 1.52 (1.10, 2.10) | 1.50 (1.08, 2.08) | 1.43 (1.03, 2.00) | |||
| Lead level quintiles (μg/dL) | ||||||
| Q1 (0.260–1.365) | 160/1,511 | (10.6) | Ref. | Ref. | Ref. | |
| Q2 (1.366–1.796) | 289/1,545 | (18.7) | 1.12 (0.81, 1.56) | 1.11 (0.79, 1.55) | 1.09 (0.77, 1.54) | |
| Q3 (1.798–2.277) | 420/1,536 | (27.3) | 1.35 (1.01, 1.80) | 1.34 (1.00, 1.78) | 1.31 (0.97, 1.77) | |
| Q4 (2.278–2.919) | 547/1,520 | (36.0) | 1.48 (1.10, 1.98) | 1.45 (1.08, 1.95) | 1.41 (1.04, 1.92) | |
| Q5 (2.920–26.507) | 736/1,484 | (49.6) | 1.61 (1.18, 2.19) | 1.59 (1.16, 2.16) | 1.52 (1.11, 2.10) | |
| p for trend | 0.060 | 0.076 | 0.039 | |||
aHearing loss was defined as pure-tone average ≥ 25 dB.
bModel A was adjusted for age, sex, monthly income, education levels, smoking status, BMI, and blood lead.
cModel B was adjusted for all variables included in model A and further adjusted for occupational noise, loud noise, and firearm noise.
dModel C was adjusted for all variables included in model B and further adjusted for hypertension and diabetes.