Table 1.
Characteristics of the 40–64-year-old subjects according to chocolate consumption.
| Chocolate Consumption | p-Value 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n = 3575) |
More Than Once (n = 1262) |
None (n = 2313) |
||
| Hearing loss 2, n (%) | ||||
| Unilateral or bilateral | 1170 (32.73%) | 338 (26.78%) | 832 (35.97%) | <0.0001 |
| Bilateral | 638 (17.85%) | 168 (13.31%) | 470 (20.32%) | <0.0001 |
| High-tone hearing loss | 2122 (59.36%) | 651 (51.58%) | 1471 (63.60%) | <0.001 |
| Tinnitus, n (%) | 811 (22.69%) | 266 (21.08%) | 545 (23.56%) | 0.0947 |
| Tinnitus-related annoyance, n (%) | 259 (7.24%) | 78 (6.18%) | 181 (7.83%) | 0.0790 |
| Age (year), median (interquartile range, IQR) | 52 (45, 58) | 50 (44, 56) | 53 (47, 59) | <0.0001 |
| Male, n (%) | 1415 (39.58%) | 493 (39.06%) | 922 (39.86%) | 0.6677 |
| Monthly household income 3, median (IQR) | 333.33 (200, 518.33) | 400 (250, 591.67) | 310.67 (184.17, 500) | <0.0001 |
| Use of earphones, n (%) | 186 (5.20%) | 90 (7.13%) | 96 (4.15%) | 0.0002 |
| Duration of earphone use (min), median (IQR) | ||||
| Total | 0 (0, 0) | 0 (0, 0) | 0 (0, 0) | 0.0002 |
| User of earphones | 60 (30, 60) | 30 (20, 60) | 60 (30, 90) | 0.0617 |
| Occupational exposure to noise, n (%) | 587 (16.42%) | 186 (14.74%) | 401 (17.34%) | 0.0473 |
| Duration of occupational exposure to noise (months), median (IQR) | ||||
| Total | 0 (0, 0) | 0 (0, 0) | 0 (0, 0) | 0.0448 |
| Occupational exposure to noise | 96 (36, 216) | 96 (36, 216) | 108 (36, 216) | 0.8920 |
| Sleep duration (hours), n (%) | 0.0295 | |||
| <6 | 504 (14.1%) | 163 (12.92%) | 341 (14.74%) | |
| 6–7 | 1,039 (29.06%) | 377 (29.87%) | 662 (28.62%) | |
| 7–8 | 1,099 (30.74%) | 418 (33.12%) | 681 (29.44%) | |
| ≥8 | 933 (26.1%) | 304 (24.09%) | 629 (27.19%) | |
| High perceived stress, n (%) | 770 (21.54%) | 274 (21.71%) | 496 (21.44%) | 0.8648 |
| Exposure to indoor second-hand smoke | ||||
| At work, n (%) | 1162 (32.5%) | 418 (33.12%) | 744 (32.17%) | 0.5753 |
| At home, n (%) | 349 (9.76%) | 123 (9.75%) | 226 (9.77%) | >0.9999 |
| Current smoking, n (%) | 653 (18.27%) | 203 (16.09%) | 450 (19.46%) | 0.0128 |
| Heavy drinking 4, n (%) | 665 (18.60%) | 193 (15.29%) | 472 (20.41%) | 0.0002 |
| Difficulties in controlling alcohol use, n (%) | 294 (8.22%) | 87 (6.89%) | 207 (8.95%) | 0.0354 |
| Having drinking-related problem in life, n (%) | 165 (4.62%) | 56 (4.44%) | 109 (4.71%) | 0.7393 |
| Menopause (females) | <0.0001 | |||
| Yes | 1209 (55.97%) | 372 (48.37%) | 837 (60.17%) | |
| No | 951 (44.03%) | 397 (51.63%) | 554 (39.83%) | |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 683 (19.10%) | 196 (15.53%) | 487 (21.05%) | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 247 (6.91%) | 60 (4.75%) | 187 (8.08%) | 0.0001 |
| Anemia, n (%) | 284 (7.94%) | 115 (9.11%) | 169 (7.31%) | 0.0606 |
| Kidney failure, n (%) | 13 (0.36%) | 6 (0.48%) | 7 (0.30%) | 0.4004 |
| Thyroid disorder, n (%) | 85 (2.38%) | 35 (2.77%) | 50 (2.16%) | 0.2527 |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 331 (9.26%) | 87 (6.89%) | 244 (10.55%) | 0.0003 |
1p-values by Fisher exact test (binary covariates), chi-squared test (more than three categories) and Wilcoxon rank sum test (continuous covariates). 2 Hearing loss ≥20 dB for four frequency average of pure-tone thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. 3 Monthly household income (10,000 Korean won). 4 Heavy drinking defined as more than three drinks per average drinking session more than twice a week.