Serum homocysteine is a biomarker for hearing loss associated with or without cardiovascular risk: a cross-sectional study in men
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Purpose
Hearing loss (HL) represents a major health problem worldwide, and increasingly so due to population ageing and new leisure activities, such as video gaming or virtual reality experiences. HL has a multifactorial origin including both genetic and environmental issues with nutrition status emerging as a new contributing factor. In fact, certain micronutrient deficiencies, along with excessive consumption of specific macronutrients, have been related to HL This study aimed to examine the association of HL with dietary fat intake, nutritional status biomarkers, and serum metabolic signature in aviation pilots and controls.
Methods
A cohort of aviation pilots, chronically exposed to noise pollution at work, was compared to a cohort of non-exposed university workers (controls). Hearing function was determined by tonal audiometry and dietary fat intake was assessed by three 24-h recalls. In addition, lipoprotein profiles as well as serum homocysteine (Hcy), folate, vitamins B12 and D were analysed. Two multiple linear regression models adjusted for age were constructed to explain HL variability.
Results
HL prevalence was similar and elevated in both cohorts (controls: 64% vs. noise-exposed: 65%), when compared to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) classification. When comparing both cohorts, although no significant differences were found in Hcy and folate levels, controls had significantly lower vitamins B12 and D concentrations and, conversely, higher serum lipids and lipoprotein values (triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol subfractions), suggesting the possible involvement of CV risk in HL in the control cohort. In the noise-exposed cohort, HL was associated with flight hours, Hcy, and folate (r2 = 0.439), while in controls, HL was associated with Hcy and vitamin D (r2 = 0.474). After adjusting for CV profile, the positive association between HL and Hcy was maintained (β = 0.444; p < 0.001), evidencing the strong involvement of this metabolite not only in CV risk, but also in HL.
Conclusion
Folate insufficiency together with hyperhomocysteinemia increased susceptibility to noise-induced HL. However, the role of Hcy in HL without noise exposure at work seems to be partially masked by an altered CV profile.
Hearing loss (HL) represents a major health problem worldwide, and increasingly so due to population ageing and new leisure activities, such as video gaming or virtual reality experiences. HL has a multifactorial origin including both genetic and environmental issues with nutrition status emerging as a new contributing factor. In fact, certain micronutrient deficiencies, along with excessive consumption of specific macronutrients, have been related to HL This study aimed to examine the association of HL with dietary fat intake, nutritional status biomarkers, and serum metabolic signature in aviation pilots and controls.
Methods
A cohort of aviation pilots, chronically exposed to noise pollution at work, was compared to a cohort of non-exposed university workers (controls). Hearing function was determined by tonal audiometry and dietary fat intake was assessed by three 24-h recalls. In addition, lipoprotein profiles as well as serum homocysteine (Hcy), folate, vitamins B12 and D were analysed. Two multiple linear regression models adjusted for age were constructed to explain HL variability.
Results
HL prevalence was similar and elevated in both cohorts (controls: 64% vs. noise-exposed: 65%), when compared to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) classification. When comparing both cohorts, although no significant differences were found in Hcy and folate levels, controls had significantly lower vitamins B12 and D concentrations and, conversely, higher serum lipids and lipoprotein values (triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol subfractions), suggesting the possible involvement of CV risk in HL in the control cohort. In the noise-exposed cohort, HL was associated with flight hours, Hcy, and folate (r2 = 0.439), while in controls, HL was associated with Hcy and vitamin D (r2 = 0.474). After adjusting for CV profile, the positive association between HL and Hcy was maintained (β = 0.444; p < 0.001), evidencing the strong involvement of this metabolite not only in CV risk, but also in HL.
Conclusion
Folate insufficiency together with hyperhomocysteinemia increased susceptibility to noise-induced HL. However, the role of Hcy in HL without noise exposure at work seems to be partially masked by an altered CV profile.
Date Issued
2025-02-04
Date Acceptance
2025-01-16
Citation
European Journal of Nutrition, 2025, 64 (2)
ISSN
1436-6207
Publisher
Springer
Journal / Book Title
European Journal of Nutrition
Volume
64
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39904906
PII: 10.1007/s00394-025-03592-2
Subjects
Cardiovascular risk
Folate
Hearing loss
Homocysteine
Lipoproteins
Vitamin D
Humans
Male
Homocysteine
Cross-Sectional Studies
Biomarkers
Middle Aged
Adult
Hearing Loss
Cohort Studies
Cardiovascular Diseases
Nutritional Status
Heart Disease Risk Factors
Risk Factors
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Germany
Article Number
84
Date Publish Online
2025-02-04