Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Autoimmune Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
PubMed 37528591 · doi:10.5152/iao.2023.22991
What was done
A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines across PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. The authors evaluated the prevalence and odds of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in patients with autoimmune diseases, including 18 articles covering 27,859 affected individuals.
What was found
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): SNHL prevalence was 21.26% [95% CI: 3.80 to 38.71]%, with pooled odds ratio of 12.11 [7.4, 24.12] (P < .001). - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA): SNHL prevalence was 16.14% [95% CI: -9.03 to 41.31]%, with pooled odds ratio of 2.23 [1.84, 2.32] (P < .001). - Vitiligo: SNHL prevalence was 38.80% [95% CI: 22.36 to 55.25]%, with pooled odds ratio of 5.82 [3.74, 9.68] (P < .001).
Why it matters
This review provides quantitative estimates linking systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and vitiligo to increased risk of sensorineural hearing loss, supporting considerations for audiologic monitoring in these conditions.
Limits
The abstract reports very wide confidence intervals for prevalence estimates (including an implausible negative lower bound for RA), indicating substantial heterogeneity or methodological limitations. Specific definitions of hearing loss, patient ages, disease duration, control group details, and potentially confounding ototoxic medication use were not described in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Individuals with autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or celiac disease have an increased risk of hearing loss due to inner ear injury and fixation of middle ear ossicular joints.