Table 2. Characteristics of SSNHL and control subjects stratified by sex.

Female SSNHL patients had significant higher average IMT value and more percentage of high average IMT (≥0.65 mm) than those in the female control group. P values <0.05 are considered statistically significant and are bolded.

	SSNHL	Control	P Value	OR (95% CI)a
Age, mean (SD), year
Female	53.6 (14.7)	47.6 (12.7)	0.167
Male	53.9 (11.7)	51 (10.3)	0.561
Smoking, n (%)
Male
Yes	7 (30.4%)	3 (17.6%)	0.471	2.04 [0.44–9.44]
No	16 (69.6%)	14 (82.4%)		1 [Reference]
DM, n (%)
Female
Yes	4 (16.7%)	2 (12.5%)	1.000	1.40 [0.22–8.72]
No	20 (83.3%)	14 (87.5%)		1 [Reference]
Male
Yes	5 (21.7%)	2 (11.8%)	0.677	2.08 [0.35–12.3]
No	18 (78.3%)	15 (88.2%)		1 [Reference]
HTN, n (%)
Female
Yes	6 (25%)	3 (18.8%)	0.717	1.44 (0.3 to 6.87)
No	18 (75%)	13 (81.2%)		1 [Reference]
Male
Yes	11 (47.8%)	4 (23.5%)	0.117	2.98 (0.74 to 11.93)
No	12 (52.2%)	13 (76.5%)		1 [Reference]
Total cholesterol, mean (SD), mg/dl
Female	197.3 (34.7)	194.3 (38.7)	0.827
Male	196 (39)	192.1 (29.3)	0.754
LDL cholesterol, mean (SD), mg/dl
Female	117.2 (36.5)	98 (28.1)	0.149
Male	126.2 (28.9)	117.1 (29.2)	0.406
HDL cholesterol, median (IQR), mg/dl
Female	57 (53–69)	69 (47.5–94.25)	0.378
Male	53 (45.5–66)	51 (46–57)	0.812
Average IMT, median (IQR), mm
Female	0.67 (0.55–0.89)	0.56 (0.55–0.63)	0.044
Male	0.65 (0.55–0.83)	0.60 (0.54–0.70)	0.194
Average IMT, n (%)
Female
High (≥0.65 mm)	13 (54.2%)	2 (12.5%)	0.008	8.27 [1.53–44.6])
Low (<0.65 mm)	11 (45.8%)	14 (87.5%)		1 [Reference]
Male
High (≥0.65 mm)	12 (52.2%)	5 (29.4%)	0.15	2.62 [0.70–9.86]
Low (<0.65 mm)	11 (47.8%)	12 (70.6%)		1 [Reference]

Notes:

Smoking was not listed in females because all women were nonsmokers.

SSNHL, sudden sensorineural hearing loss; DM, diabetes mellitus; HTN, hypertension; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IMT, intima-media thickness; OR, Odds ratio; CI, confident interval.

^astratified by sex.