Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Qingdao University School of Public Health, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Qingdao Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Ear Hear. 2019 Mar/Apr;40(2):253-259. doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000610.
The heritability of age-related hearing loss has been studied mostly in developed countries. The authors aimed to estimate the heritability of better ear hearing level (BEHL), defined as hearing level of the better ear at a given frequency, and pure-tone averages at the middle (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz) and high (4.0, 8.0, and 12.5 kHz) frequencies among middle-aged and elderly Chinese twins, and to explore their genetic correlations.
This population-based twin study included 226 monozygotic and 132 dizygotic twin-pairs and 1 triplet (age range, 33 to 80 years; mean age, 51.55 years). Pure-tone air-conducted hearing thresholds in each ear were measured at the frequencies of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, and 12.5 kHz with a diagnostic audiometer. Univariate and multivariate twin models were fitted to evaluate heritability and genetic correlations.
Our data showed a reverse J-shaped pattern of BEHLs at six frequencies by age and sex. Univariate analysis showed that the heritability of BEHLs at the frequencies between 2.0 and 12.5 kHz ranged from 47.08 to 54.20%, but the heritability at the frequencies of 0.5 and 1.0 kHz was 1.65% and 18.68%, respectively. The heritability of pure-tone average at the middle and high frequencies was 34.77% and 43.26%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed significant genetic correlations among BEHLs at all six frequencies, with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.48 to 0.83 at middle frequencies, and from 0.46 to 0.75 at high frequencies.
This population-based twin study suggests that genetic factors are associated with age-related hearing loss at middle and high frequencies among middle-aged and elderly Chinese.
年龄相关性听力损失的遗传性已在发达国家进行了大量研究。作者旨在估计中国中老年人群中较好耳听力水平（定义为特定频率下较好耳的听力水平）、中频率（0.5、1.0 和 2.0 kHz）和高频率（4.0、8.0 和 12.5 kHz）纯音平均值的遗传性，并探讨其遗传相关性。
本基于人群的双胞胎研究包括 226 对同卵双胞胎和 132 对异卵双胞胎以及 1 对三胞胎（年龄范围 33 至 80 岁；平均年龄 51.55 岁）。使用诊断听力计测量每只耳朵在 0.5、1.0、2.0、4.0、8.0 和 12.5 kHz 频率的气导纯音听力阈值。使用单变量和多变量双胞胎模型评估遗传性和遗传相关性。
我们的数据按年龄和性别显示了 6 个频率的较好耳听力水平呈反 J 形分布。单变量分析表明，2.0 至 12.5 kHz 频率的较好耳听力水平的遗传性在 47.08%至 54.20%之间，但 0.5 和 1.0 kHz 频率的遗传性分别为 1.65%和 18.68%。中高频纯音平均值的遗传性分别为 34.77%和 43.26%。多变量分析显示，所有 6 个频率的较好耳听力水平之间存在显著的遗传相关性，中频率的相关系数范围为 0.48 至 0.83，高频率的相关系数范围为 0.46 至 0.75。
本基于人群的双胞胎研究表明，遗传因素与中国中老年人群中中高频的年龄相关性听力损失有关。
