International Journal of Epidemiology 2001;30:608-615
© International Epidemiological Association 2001
Other Original Papers |
Japanese and Western diet and risk of idiopathic sudden deafness: a case-control study using pooled controls
a Department of Hygiene, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan.
b Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
c Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
d Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan.
e Department of Epidemiology, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
f Koza Public Health Centre, Japan.
g Kyoto University Health Service, Japan.
h Department of Public Health, Wakayama Medical College, Japan.
i Department of Preventive Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Mieko Nakamura, Department of Hygiene, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama Hamamatsu, 431-3192 Japan. E-mail: miekons{at}hama-med.ac.jp
Abstract
Background One of the proposed aetiological mechanisms for idiopathic sudden deafness is vascular disease. However, it is not known whether traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as particular dietary factors, are associated with this condition.
Methods A case-control study using pooled controls was conducted in Japan to investigate the relationship between idiopathic sudden deafness and diet. An m:n matched-pairs method was used to obtain age-, gender- and residential district-matched controls from a nationwide database of pooled controls. Food intake was assessed from a self-administered usual food frequency questionnaire that asked about intake of 35 foods (including four drinks). Participants were classified according to the frequency of intake of Western foods and the frequency of intake of traditional Japanese foods. Subgroup analyses were performed using audiometric subtypes of idiopathic sudden deafness.
Results Data were obtained for 164 cases and 20 313 controls. An increased risk of sudden deafness was observed among participants who frequently consumed Western foods (OR = 1.82, 95% CI : 1.14–2.89), and a decreased risk of this condition was observed among participants who frequently consumed Japanese foods (OR = 0.52, 95% CI : 0.33–0.82). A direct association of sudden deafness with Western food intake was evident for flat-type hearing loss.
Conclusions This study suggests that a largely Western diet might be a risk factor for idiopathic sudden deafness, a traditional Japanese diet might be a preventive factor for this condition, or both. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that vascular factors are an important cause of idiopathic sudden deafness, although the possibility of residual confounding by unmeasured confounders such as socioeconomic status cannot be ruled out.
KEY MESSAGES
- Some cases of idiopathic sudden deafness may have a vascular origin.
- Diet is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
- Few data are available about whether idiopathic sudden deafness is associated with dietary factors.
- High intake of ‘Western’ foods, and/or low intake of traditional Japanese foods, was associated with increased risks of idiopathic sudden deafness.
- The possibility that these findings may be residually confounded by socioeconomic status or other variables cannot be ruled out.
Keywords Sudden deafness, diet, Japan, case-control study, audiometry
Accepted 20 October 2000
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