Smoking Is Positively Related and Alcohol Consumption Is Negatively Related to an Increased Risk of Meniere’s Disease

Abstract

A few prior researchers presumed the impacts of smoking and alcohol on the risk of Meniere’s disease (MD). This study investigated the relationship between smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity with Meniere’s disease in an adult population. The ≥40-year-old population in the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort 2002–2019 was analyzed. A total of 15,208 patients with MD were matched with 499,658 comparison participants. The current smoking, alcohol consumption, and past medical histories were collected. Body mass index (BMI) was grouped into underweight, normal, overweight, obese I, and obese II. The odds of histories of smoking and alcohol consumption and the BMI group for MD were analyzed using conditional logistic regression analysis. These associations were further analyzed in subgroups of age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, and BMI. In the overall adult population, smoking and alcohol consumption did not show an association with MD. Being underweight was linked with lower odds for MD (adjusted OR [aOR] = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.68–0.93, p = 0.004). In the male group, smoking was positively associated with MD (aOR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.00–1.17, p = 0.043), while alcohol consumption was negatively related to MD (aOR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.81–0.94, p < 0.001). Being underweight was related to a lower risk of MD. In adult men, smoking was predicted to increase, while alcohol consumption was predicted to decrease the risk of MD.