Association of polymorphisms in grainyhead-like-2 gene with the susceptibility to age-related hearing loss

Abstract Objective: The grainyhead-like-2 (GRHL2) genetic variants were reported in age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) susceptibility in several case–control studies. However, their conclusions are conflicting; it is difficult to precisely assess the disease risk associated with the variants. Therefore we conduct the meta-analysis to discover the association of GRHL2 polymorphisms and the risk of ARHI. Methods: A related literature search was conducted in on-line databases, such as Wanfang database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), EMBASE, Web of Science, and PubMed (updated to August 30, 2018). We use Review Manager 5.0 and Stata SE 12.0 software to reckon the odds radio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) and P value in random- or fixed-effects model according to the I2 value in the heterogeneity test. Results: 2762 cases and 2321 controls in 5 articles were provided data to the meta-analysis. The pooled ORs (95% CI) of the rs10955255 polymorphism were 1.26 (1.05–1.50, P = .01), 1.33 (1.07–1.65, P = .01), and 1.32 (1.12–1.55, P = .0007) in the allele, homozygote and recessive model separately. Besides, a significant association was detected between rs1981361 in mixed population and the ARHI risk in the allele, heterozygote, and dominant genetic model respectively. Then subgroup analyses was performed by ethnicity, for rs10955255 meaningful associations were detected for the allele model, homozygote model, dominant model and recessive model in the Caucasian population but no relations in any of the 5 genetic models in Asian population. Conclusion: The meta-analysis indicated that the rs10955255 polymorphism could be an important risk factor for ARHI, especially in the Caucasians. The rs1981361 polymorphism may be a risk factor for ARHI in Asians. Larger scale researches are needed to further bring the consequences up to date.