Jeong Jo-Eun, Jeon Sekye, Han Jae Sang, Cho Eun Young, Hong Kyung Sue, Park Shi Nae, Kim Jung Jin
Department of Psychiatry, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Psychiatry Investig. 2021 Mar;18(3):187-195. doi: 10.30773/pi.2020.0295. Epub 2021 Mar 10.
To investigate the association between genetic polymorphisms of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and tinnitus, and the mediating effects of psychological distress on this association.
Eighty-six patients experiencing tinnitus and 252 controls were recruited. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory was used to assess the severity of tinnitus and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory-II (BAI-II), and the Korean version of the Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument (BEPSI-K) were used to assess psychological distress. We compared the association of BDNF rs6265 (Val66Met) and 5-HTTLPR variants in the two groups. The mediating effects of BDI-II, BAI-II, and BEPSI-K were examined using multiple regression analysis and validated by the Sobel test and bootstrapping.
No significant differences were found between the groups regarding BDNF Val66Met and 5-HTTLPR, but the 5-HTTLPR variants trended toward association. Depressive symptoms appeared to act as a mediator on the relationship within the 5-HTTLPR s/s genotype and the severity of tinnitus.
Our findings provide a speculative idea on the association between the serotonergic system and tinnitus and suggest that depressive symptoms act as a mediator in tinnitus. Therefore, screening for depressive symptoms in patients with tinnitus is essential and intervention for depressive symptoms may help alleviate the severity of tinnitus.
探讨脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）基因多态性或5-羟色胺转运体基因连锁多态性区域（5-HTTLPR）与耳鸣之间的关联，以及心理困扰在此关联中的中介作用。
招募了86例耳鸣患者和252例对照。采用耳鸣障碍量表评估耳鸣严重程度，采用贝克抑郁量表第二版（BDI-II）、贝克焦虑量表第二版（BAI-II）和韩文版简易心理社会调查问卷（BEPSI-K）评估心理困扰。我们比较了两组中BDNF rs6265（Val66Met）和5-HTTLPR变异的关联。使用多元回归分析检验BDI-II、BAI-II和BEPSI-K的中介作用，并通过Sobel检验和自抽样法进行验证。
两组在BDNF Val66Met和5-HTTLPR方面未发现显著差异，但5-HTTLPR变异有相关趋势。抑郁症状似乎在5-HTTLPR s/s基因型与耳鸣严重程度的关系中起中介作用。
我们的研究结果为血清素能系统与耳鸣之间的关联提供了一个推测性观点，并表明抑郁症状在耳鸣中起中介作用。因此，对耳鸣患者进行抑郁症状筛查至关重要，对抑郁症状的干预可能有助于减轻耳鸣的严重程度。
