title: Gene dose of apolipoprotein E and age-related hearing loss.
abstract: Next to outer hair cell dysfunction, age-related hearing loss may be explained by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. In the Leiden 85-plus Study, a population-based study, the participants were 85 years old. We measured hearing loss by pure-tone audiometry in 435 participants in relation to APOE. Results demonstrated that those with the APOE-ε4/ε4 genotype had the highest levels of hearing loss (n = 6; 56.1 dB), those with the APOE-ε3/ε4 or ε2/ε4 genotype (n = 89) had intermediate levels of hearing loss (51.0 dB), and those without the APOE-ε4 allele (n = 340) had the lowest levels of hearing loss (48.9 dB), p for trend = 0.02. Eighty percent of participants had hearing loss of 35 dB and more, that is, hearing impairment. The APOE-ε4 allele was associated with a 2.0-fold increased risk of hearing impairment (confidence interval [CI 95%], 1.0-4.0), compared with those without the APOE-ε4 allele. The risk for hearing impairment in subjects with the APOE-ε4 allele remained similar after adjustment for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that the APOE-ε4 allele contributes to age-related hearing loss.
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center/GGZ InGeest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kurniawan
authors.forename: Rudi G J
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Westendorp
authors.forename: Anton J M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: de Craen
authors.forename: Jacobijn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gussekloo
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Laat
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Exel
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D053318:Apolipoprotein E3 / Q000235:genetics; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics*; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000235:genetics; D018672:Community Health Planning; D005260:Female; D018628:Gene Dosage / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D053318:Apolipoprotein E3; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E