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Research: CHOI and COLLEAGUES,
Listed in Issue 238
Abstract
CHOI and COLLEAGUES, (1)Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute of Environmental Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (Y-HC); the Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine and Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (JMM); the Department of Health Sciences, Bouve College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA (KLT); the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (HH); and the Departments of Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI (SKP) studied associations between antioxidant vitamins and magnesium intake and hearing loss.
Background
The protective effects of antioxidant vitamins on hearing loss are well established in animal studies but in few human studies. Recent animal studies suggest that magnesium intake along with antioxidants may act in synergy to prevent hearing loss.
Methodology
Objective: The authors examined associations between intake of antioxidant vitamins (daily β-carotene and vitamins C and E) and magnesium and hearing thresholds and explored their joint effects in US adults. Design: The authors analyzed cross-sectional data from 2592 participants aged 20-69 y from NHANES 2001-2004. Hearing thresholds as pure tone averages (PTAs) at speech (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) and high frequencies (3, 4, and 6 kHz) were computed.
Results
When examined individually, modelled as quartiles, and after adjustment for potential confounders, higher intakes of β-carotene, vitamin C, and magnesium were associated with lower (better) PTAs at both speech and high frequencies. High intakes of β-carotene or vitamin C combined with high magnesium compared with low intakes of both nutrients were significantly associated with lower (better) PTAs at high frequencies (-14.82%; 95% CI: -20.50% to -8.74% for β-carotene + magnesium and -10.72%; 95% CI: -16.57% to -4.45% for vitamin C + magnesium). The estimated joint effects were borderline significantly larger than the sums of the individual effects [high β-carotene/low magnesium (-4.98%) and low β-carotene/high magnesium (-0.80%), P-interaction = 0.08; high vitamin C/low magnesium (-1.33%) and low vitamin C/high magnesium (2.13%), P-interaction = 0.09].
Conclusion
Dietary intakes of antioxidants and magnesium are associated with lower risks of hearing loss.
References
Choi YH(1), Miller JM, Tucker KL, Hu H, Park SK. Antioxidant vitamins and magnesium and the risk of hearing loss in the US general population. Am J Clin Nutr. 99(1):148-55. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.068437. Epub Nov 6 2013. Jan 2014.
Comment
The above research demonstrated that higher dietary intake of antioxidants - β-carotene and vitamin C - and magnesium are associated with reduced risk of hearing loss.
