Effects of tea drinking on auditory functions in aged subjects

Role of nutrition in the development and prevention of age-related hearing loss: A scoping review

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a major and increasingly prevalent health problem worldwide, causing disability and social isolation in the people who present it. This impairment is caused by genetic and environmental factors. Nutritional status has been identified as a related risk associated with hearing loss (HL). This scoping review aimed to characterize the links between HL and nutritional status. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Scopus databases were searched up to December 2019. Studies examining the relation between nutrition and dietary habits and HL were included. After screening 3510 citations, 22 publications were selected for inclusion in the current review, all of which were published between 2010 and 2019. Diets rich in saturated fats and cholesterol have deleterious effects on hearing that could be prevented by lower consumption. Conversely, greater consumption of fruit and vegetables, and of polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3) and anti-oxidants in the form of vitamins A, C, and E, prevent the development of ARHL. The current literature suggests a possible association between nutritional status and hearing loss. More studies are needed to better characterize the clinical consequences of this association.

Outcomes of Triple-Combination Therapy for Chronic Tinnitus

BACKGROUND/AIM

Patients with tinnitus suffer not only from auditory dysfunction but also physical, mental, and social difficulties. Our aim was to investigate the outcomes of our triple-combination therapy for chronic tinnitus, which includes narrow-band noise masking, auricular acupuncture and cognitive behavioral therapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) scores of 78 adults with chronic tinnitus who received triple-combination therapy for 12 weeks were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS

There were 39 females and 39 males in this study. The mean age was 60.5 years [standard deviation (SD)=13.0, range=27-88 years] for all subjects. Mean pure tone average=39.5 decibel hearing level (SD=23.09). Pre-treatment mean THI score was 41.4 (SD=21.13), functional (F) subscore was 17.9 (SD=10.69), emotional (E) subscore was 10.6 (SD=6.87), and catastrophic (C) subscore was 12.9 (SD=4.85). Post-treatment THI total score was significantly lower compared to pre-treatment THI total score. Also, post-treatment subscores were significantly lower compared to pre-treatment subscores in F and C subsocres, but not in E subscore. In addition, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that coffee and tea consumption was significantly positively associated with a reduction of THI total score.

CONCLUSION

Triple-combination therapy could be helpful for chronic tinnitus patients. It seemed that coffee and tea consumption may elicit increased improvement in conjunction with combined therapy for chronic tinnitus.

Association of periodic limb movements during sleep and Parkinson disease: A retrospective clinical study

Both of periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) and Parkinson disease (PD) were related with dopaminergic system dysfunction. We aimed to investigate the detailed association of PLMS severity and PD.Clinical and overnight polysomnographic data of 2230 adults older than 40 from a community hospital between November 2011 and June 2017 in Taiwan were collected retrospectively. The association of PLMS severity and PD was analyzed by Fisher exact test, univariate, and multivariate logistic regression.The mean age was 55.6 years old (standard deviation = 9.8, range = 40-91) for all subjects. There were 2205 subjects without PD and 25 subjects with PD in this study. The distribution of PLMS severity was not significantly different between subjects without PD and with PD (Fischer exact test, P = .215). Also, PLMS was not significantly associated with PD using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.The PLMS severity was not associated with PD.

Can Nutritional Intervention for Obesity and Comorbidities Slow Down Age-Related Hearing Impairment?

BACKGROUND

Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), the most common sensory deficit in the elderly, is associated with enormous social and public health burdens. Emerging evidence has suggested that obesity and comorbidities might increase the risk of ARHI. However, no reviews have been published that address the role of nutritional interventions for obesity and comorbidities in the prevention of ARHI.

METHODS

A PubMed database search was conducted to identify the relationship between obesity and ARHI. "Obesity", "metabolic syndrome", "adipose-derived hormone", "fatty acid", and "age-related hearing impairment" were included as keywords.

RESULTS

A total of 89 articles was analyzed with 39 articles of relevance to ARHI. A high-fat diet may induce oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, and apoptosis in the inner ear. Statins have been shown to delay the progression of ARHI by improving the lipid profile, reducing oxidative stress, and inhibiting endothelial inflammation. Aldosterone could exert protective effects against ARHI by upregulating the Na-K-2Cl co-transporter 1 in the cochlea. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids could preserve the cochlear microcirculation by reducing dyslipidemia and inhibiting inflammation. Alpha-lipoic acid and lecithin might delay the progression of ARHI by protecting cochlear mitochondrial DNA from damage due to oxidative stress. Tea and ginseng might protect against ARHI through their anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Nutritional interventions for obesity and comorbidities, including a low-fat diet, supplementation with statins, aldosterone, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, alpha-lipoic acids, lecithin, tea, and ginseng, may protect against the development of ARHI.

Obstructive sleep apnea and risk of Parkinson's disease: a population-based cohort study

Sleep disorders could be associated with neurodegenerative diseases. This study aimed to determine the risk of Parkinson's disease in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The incident cases of newly diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea were identified between 2000 and 2009 from the medical claims database of National Health Institute of Taiwan. The risk of Parkinson's disease onset at least 1 year after the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea was measured during and up to 11 years of period, compared to that of age- and gender-matched controls estimated in the same period. A total of 5864 patients with newly diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea and 23,269 subjects without obstructive sleep apnea were identified for data analysis. The study reported that the incidence of Parkinson's disease in the obstructive sleep apnea cohort was approximately two times higher than that in the control cohort (2.57 versus 1.32 per 1000 person-years), with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.84. Furthermore, the risk of Parkinson's disease was particularly greater for the obstructive sleep apnea with insomnia subgroup (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.97, 95% confidence interval = 1.44-2.69) than for the control cohort. The sex-age-specific analysis further discovered that the most elevated risk of Parkinson's disease onset was noted in female obstructive sleep apnea patients aged 50-69 years (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.82). This population-based study indicated that patients with obstructive sleep apnea, especially those who suffered from insomnia, are at an increased risk of Parkinson's disease onset.

No association between plasma adiponectin levels and central auditory function in adults

Adiponectin might play a protective role in cardiometabolic and peripheral auditory disorders, but its role on central auditory function was still unclear. The aim of this study was to examine whether there is an association between plasma adiponectin levels and central auditory function in adults. We recruited 297 adults, with normal or symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss and normal cognitive functions. Multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the association between plasma adiponectin concentrations and pitch pattern sequence (PPS) score, which was one of central auditory tests. The results showed that there were 224 (75.4%) women and 73 (24.6%) men in this study. The mean age was 58.1 ± 8.4 years, the mean waist circumference (WC) was 81.1 ± 8.3 cm, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.0 ± 3.0 kg/m(2). The mean PPS score was 71.5 ± 14.1%, and plasma adiponectin concentration was 12.7 ± 5.5 g/mL. After adjusting for age, gender, WC, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, smoking and drinking, plasma adiponectin concentrations (coefficient ± standard error, β ± SE = -0.09 ± 0.16, p = 0.563) were found to have no significant associations with PPS score. When WC was excluded from these variables in the multivariate linear regression model, plasma adiponectin concentrations (β ± SE = -0.03 ± 0.15, p = 0.855) were still not significantly associated with PPS score. In conclusion, plasma adiponectin levels were not significantly associated with PPS score, which was one of central auditory function tests. More studies should be conducted for the underlying mechanisms of obesity-related central auditory dysfunction.