Mendelian Randomization Reveals: Triglycerides and Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Genetics
• Otolaryngology

Background:

• Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a complex condition potentially linked to cardiovascular health, specifically blood lipid levels like triglycerides (TG).
• Understanding the relationship between TG and SNHL is crucial for developing preventative strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential causal relationship between triglyceride levels and sensorineural hearing loss.
• To utilize Mendelian randomization (MR) to minimize confounding factors and reverse causality in the TG-SNHL association analysis.

Main Methods:

• A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted using publicly available genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for TG and SNHL.
• Various MR methods (IVW, MR Egger, weighted median, weighted mode) were employed, alongside heterogeneity and pleiotropy tests (Cochrane's Q, MR-Egger intercept, MR-PRESSO), and a leave-one-out sensitivity analysis.

Main Results:

• A significant positive causal association was found between higher triglyceride levels and an increased risk of sensorineural hearing loss (OR=1.14, p<0.001).
• Replication analysis confirmed this association (OR=1.09, p<0.006), with a combined meta-analysis showing a significant causal effect (OR=1.11, p=0.01).
• No significant evidence of horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity was detected among the genetic variants, indicating robust findings.

Conclusions:

• Triglycerides are identified as a significant risk factor for sensorineural hearing loss.
• Managing triglyceride levels presents a potential avenue for the prevention and intervention of SNHL.
• These findings highlight the importance of cardiovascular health management in mitigating hearing loss risk.