Table 1.
General Characteristics of Participants.
| Characteristics | Total participants | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sudden sensory neural hearing loss | Control group | P-value | |
| Age (years old, n, %) | 1.000 | ||
| 5–9 | 27 (0.5) | 108 (0.5) | |
| 10–14 | 65 (1.3) | 230 (1.3) | |
| 15–19 | 138 (2.7) | 552 (2.7) | |
| 20–24 | 149 (2.9) | 596 (2.9) | |
| 25–29 | 254 (4.9) | 1,016 (4.9) | |
| 30–34 | 304 (5.8) | 1,216 (5.8) | |
| 35–39 | 413 (7.9) | 1,652 (7.9) | |
| 40–44 | 480 (9.2) | 1,920 (9.2) | |
| 45–49 | 529 (10.2) | 2,116 (10.2) | |
| 50–54 | 642 (12.3) | 2,568 (12.3) | |
| 55–59 | 599 (11.5) | 2,396 (11.5) | |
| 30–64 | 511 (9.8) | 2,044 (9.8) | |
| 65–69 | 461 (8.9) | 1,844 (8.9) | |
| 70–74 | 342 (6.6) | 1,368 (6.6) | |
| 75–79 | 187 (3.6) | 748 (3.6) | |
| 80–84 | 69 (1.3) | 276 (1.3) | |
| 85+ | 30 (0.6) | 120 (0.6) | |
| Sex (n, %) | 1.000 | ||
| Male | 2,304 (44.3) | 9,216 (44.3) | |
| Female | 2,896 (55.7) | 11,584 (55.7) | |
| Income (n, %) | 1.000 | ||
| 1 (lowest) | 88 (1.7) | 352 (1.7) | |
| 2 | 346 (6.7) | 1,384 (6.7) | |
| 3 | 310 (6.0) | 1,240 (6.0) | |
| 4 | 337 (6.5) | 1,348 (6.5) | |
| 5 | 325 (6.3) | 1,300 (6.3) | |
| 6 | 437 (8.4) | 1,748 (8.4) | |
| 7 | 459 (8.8) | 1,836 (8.8) | |
| 8 | 542 (10.4) | 2,168 (10.4) | |
| 9 | 620 (11.9) | 2,480 (11.9) | |
| 10 | 835 (16.1) | 3,340 (16.1) | |
| 11 (highest) | 901 (17.3) | 3,304 (17.3) | |
| Region of residence (n, %) | 2,430 (46.7) | 9,720 (46.7) | 1.000 |
| Hypertension (n, %) | 1,930 (37.1) | 7,720 (37.1) | 1.000 |
| Diabetes (n, %) | 1,139 (21.9) | 4,556 (21.9) | 1.000 |
| Dyslipidemia (n, %) | 1,636 (31.5) | 6,544 (31.5) | 1.000 |
| Daily mean temperature for 14 days (°C, mean, SD) | 13.0 (9.7) | 13.1 (9.6) | 0.821 |
| Daily highest temperature for 14 days (°C, mean, SD) | 18.2 (9.5) | 18.2 (9.4) | 0.946 |
| Daily lowest temperature for 14 days (°C, mean, SD) | 8.6 (10.1) | 8.7 (10.1) | 0.804 |
| Daily temperature difference for 14 days (°C, mean, SD) | 9.6 (2.3) | 9.6 (2.3) | 0.417 |
| Relative humidity for 14 days (%, mean, SD) | 65.6 (10.6) | 65.8 (10.6) | 0.467 |
| Ambient atmospheric pressure for 14 days (hPa, mean, SD) | 1006.3 (7.5) | 1006.1 (7.6) | 0.078 |
| SO2 for 14 days (ppb, mean, SD) | 5.5 (1.9) | 5.5 (2.0) | 0.851 |
| NO2 for 14 days (ppb, mean, SD) | 24.9 (8.8) | 24.1 (8.6) | <0.001* |
| O3 for 14 days (ppb, mean, SD) | 23.1 (8.7) | 23.4 (8.7) | 0.021* |
| CO for 14 days (ppm, mean, SD) | 0.566 (0.181) | 0.562 (0.186) | 0.148 |
| PM10 for 14 days (μg/m3, mean, SD) | 52.4 (18.1) | 52.1 (18.1) | 0.209 |
SD: standard deviation.
ppb: Parts per billion.
ppm: Part per million ( = 1,000 ppb).
*Chi-square test or independent t-test, significance at P < 0.05.