Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Eun Kye Kang

2 Articles

Environmental exposure of heavy metal (lead and cadmium) and hearing loss: data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2010–2013): Gu Hyeok Kang, Jun Young Uhm, Young Gon Choi, Eun Kye Kang, Soo Young Kim, Won Oh Choo, Seong Sil Chang; Ann Occup Environ Med 2018;30:22. Published online April 17, 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-018-0237-9

Background

Lead 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.

Methods

The 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).

Results

Among 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.

Conclusions

The 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.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Higher exposure to 1,3-butadiene is associated with more severe hearing loss
Sang-Yoon Han, Sang-Yeon Lee, Myung-Whan Suh, Jun Ho Lee, Moo Kyun Park
Scientific Reports.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Occupational Lead Exposure Ototoxicity Evaluated With Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions
Soledad Solis-Angeles, Luz María Del Razo, Guadalupe Aguilar-Madrid, Carmina Jiménez-Ramírez, Laura Coco, Alejandro Cabello-López, Cuauhtémoc Arturo Juárez-Pérez
Ear & Hearing.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Hearing Loss and Disorders: The Repercussions of Climate Change
Sue Sherratt
American Journal of Audiology.2023; 32(4): 793. CrossRef
The role of calcium, Akt and ERK signaling in cadmium-induced hair cell death
Jennifer Galdieri, Chloe Adams, María Padilla, Tamara M. Stawicki
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.2023; 124: 103815. CrossRef
Combined effects of multiple metals on hearing loss: A Bayesian kernel machine regression approach
Mingming Liang, Xianwei Guo, Xiuxiu Ding, Qiuxia Song, Hao Wang, Ning Li, Wanying Su, Qiwei Liang, Yehuan Sun
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.2022; 247: 114279. CrossRef
Metformin attenuates cadmium-induced degeneration of spiral ganglion neuron via restoring autophagic flux in primary culture
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Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry.2022; 234: 111901. CrossRef
Effects of cadmium and high-fat diet on essential metal concentration in the mouse testis
Bin Zhou, Adrienne Gentry, Qian Xu, Jamie L. Young, Xiaofang Yan, Kelly Pagidas, Yu Yang, Walter H. Watson, Maiying Kong, Lu Cai, Jonathan H. Freedman
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Metal Exposures, Noise Exposures, and Audiometry from E-Waste Workers in Agbogbloshie, Ghana
Krystin Carlson, Niladri Basu, Julius N. Fobil, Richard L. Neitzel
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(18): 9639. CrossRef
Mechanotransduction Activity Facilitates Hair Cell Toxicity Caused by the Heavy Metal Cadmium
Caleigh Schmid, Isabella Alampi, Jay Briggs, Kelly Tarcza, Tamara M. Stawicki
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Disruption of essential metal homeostasis in the brain by cadmium and high-fat diet
John C. Mazzocco, Rekha Jagadapillai, Evelyne Gozal, Maiying Kong, Qian Xu, Gregory N. Barnes, Jonathan H. Freedman
Toxicology Reports.2020; 7: 1164. CrossRef
Exposure to lead, mercury, styrene, and toluene and hearing impairment: evaluation of dose-response relationships, regulations, and controls
Ehsan Hemmativaghef
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.2020; 17(11-12): 574. CrossRef
Association of Blood Cadmium with Cardiovascular Disease in Korea: From the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008–2013 and 2016
Jihyun Jeong, Sang-moon Yun, Minkyeong Kim, Young Ho Koh
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020; 17(17): 6288. CrossRef
Environmental ototoxicants, a potential new class of chemical stressors
Lucia Fábelová, Christopher A. Loffredo, Jana Klánová, Klára Hilscherová, Milena Horvat, Juraj Tihányi, Denisa Richterová, Ľubica Palkovičová Murínová, Soňa Wimmerová, Renata Sisto, Arturo Moleti, Tomáš Trnovec
Environmental Research.2019; 171: 378. CrossRef
Association between cadmium exposure and hearing impairment: a population-based study in Korean adults
Da Jung Jung
Yeungnam University Journal of Medicine.2019; 36(2): 141. CrossRef

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Association between shift work and microalbuminuria: data from KNHANES(2012–2014): Eun Kye Kang, Gu Hyeok Kang, Jun Young Uhm, Young Gon Choi, Soo Young Kim, Seong Sil Chang, Hyoung-Ryoul Kim; Ann Occup Environ Med 2017;29:37. Published online August 21, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-017-0194-8

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub

Background

Shift work disturbs workers’ biological clocks and this condition can cause various health problems including cardiovascular disease. The elevated albuminuria level has been significantly associated with the risk of the cardiovascular disease even within a normal reference range. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between shift work and microalbuminuria.

Methods

Workers aged over 20 years from the fifth and sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES 2012–2014; n = 3000) were included in this analysis. The multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between shift work and microalbuminuria stratified by gender.

Results

The prevalence of microalbuminuria in male subjects was higher among day workers, but the difference was not significant. However, the prevalence of microalbuminuria among females was higher in shift workers with statistical significance. For female, the Odds ratio of microalbuminuria in shift workers was significantly higher with 1.86 (95% CI 1.02–3.39) compared with day workers. After dividing into 5 subgroups of the shift work pattern, the odds ratio of microalbuminuria for fixed night shift was significantly higher at 4.68 (95% CI 1.29–17.00) compared with day workers.

Conclusions

This study showed that shift work was associated with microalbuminuria in female workers. Especially we found out the association between fixed night shift and microalbuminuria in female workers.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Effect of night shift work on the reduction of glomerular filtration rate using data from Korea Medical Institute (2016-2020)
Beom Seok Ko, Sang Yop Shin, Ji Eun Hong, Sungbeom Kim, Jihhyeon Yi, Jeongbae Rhie
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Cardiometabolic traits mediate the association of past shift work and chronic kidney disease: the Dongfeng–Tongji cohort study
Xu Han, Fei Wang, Jing Wang, Meian He
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.2022; 95(7): 1501. CrossRef
Rotating Night Shift Work, Exposure to Light at Night, and Glomerular Filtration Rate: Baseline Results from a Chinese Occupational Cohort
Shengkui Zhang, Yongbin Wang, Ying Zhu, Xiaoming Li, Yang Song, Juxiang Yuan
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020; 17(23): 9035. CrossRef

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