ArticleAnnals of occupational and environmental medicine2018
Environmental exposure of heavy metal (lead and cadmium) and hearing loss: data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2010-2013).
Article in Annals of occupational and environmental medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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12 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of mixed blood metals on hearing loss among steel workers: a case-control study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Industrial air pollution and newborn hearing screening failure.Journal of hazardous materials · 2025Article
- Higher exposure to 1,3-butadiene is associated with more severe hearing loss.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Population-based study of environmental heavy metal exposure and hearing loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2024Review
- Metal Exposures, Noise Exposures, and Audiometry from E-Waste Workers in Agbogbloshie, Ghana.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Effects of cadmium and high-fat diet on essential metal concentration in the mouse testis.Toxicology reports · 2021Article
- Association of Blood Cadmium with Cardiovascular Disease in Korea: From the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2013 and 2016.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Aeromonas spp. Isolated from Pacific Abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) Marketed in Korea: Antimicrobial and Heavy-Metal Resistance Properties.Current microbiology · 2020Article
- Disruption of essential metal homeostasis in the brain by cadmium and high-fat diet.Toxicology reports · 2020Article
- Mechanotransduction Activity Facilitates Hair Cell Toxicity Caused by the Heavy Metal Cadmium.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2020Article
- The Relation between Hearing Loss and Smoking among Workers Exposed to Noise, Using Linear Mixed Models.Iranian journal of otorhinolaryngology · 2020Article
- Association between cadmium exposure and hearing impairment: a population-based study in Korean adults.Yeungnam University journal of medicine · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLead and cadmium have been identified as risk factors for hearing loss in animal studies, but large-scale studies targeting the general human population are rare. This study was conducted to investigate the link between heavy metal concentrations in blood and hearing impairment, using a national population-based survey.
methodsThe study participants comprised 6409 Koreans aged 20 or older, who were included in the Fifth and Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES 2010-2013). Hearing impairment was categorized into two types, low- and high-frequency hearing impairment, using pure tone audiometry. Low-frequency hearing impairment was defined as having a binaural average of hearing thresholds for 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz exceeding 25 dB, and high-frequency hearing impairment was defined as having a binaural average of hearing thresholds for 3, 4, and 6 kHz exceeding 25 dB. The blood levels of heavy metals (lead and cadmium) were classified into quartiles. Cross-sectional association between hearing impairment and the level of heavy metals (lead and cadmium) was examined in both sexes. Multivariate logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
resultsAmong men, the prevalence of low- and high- frequency hearing impairment was 13.9% and 46.7%, respectively, which was higher than the prevalence among women (11.8% and 27.0%, respectively). Regarding lead, the adjusted OR of high-frequency hearing impairment for the highest blood level group versus the lowest group was significant in both men (OR = 1.629, 95% CI = 1.161-2.287) and women (OR = 1.502, 95% CI = 1.027-2.196), after adjusting for age, body mass index, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and noise exposure (occupational, loud, firearm noises). No links were found between blood lead levels and low-frequency hearing impairment, or between blood cadmium levels and low- or high-frequency hearing impairment in either sex.
conclusionsThe present study findings suggest that even exposure to low-level lead is a risk factor for high-frequency hearing loss. A prospective epidemiologic study should be conducted to identify the causal relationship between human health and exposure to heavy metals, and efforts to reduce heavy metal exposure in the general population should continue.
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