| 1. |
- Hannula, Samuli, et al.
(författare)
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Audiogram configurations among older adults: Prevalence and relation to self-reported hearing problems
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 50:11, s. 793-801
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective : There are only a few population-based epidemiological studies on audiogram configurations among adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of different audiogram configurations among older adults. In addition, audiogram configurations among subjects reporting hearing problems were examined. Design : Cross-sectional, population-based, unscreened epidemiological study among older adults. Study sample : The subjects (850), aged 54-66 years, were randomly sampled from the population register. A questionnaire survey, an otological examination, and pure-tone audiometry were performed. Results : The most prevalent audiogram configuration among men was high-frequency steeply sloping (65.3% left ear, 51.2% right ear) and among women, high-frequency gently sloping (33.0% left ear, 31.5% right ear). There were significantly more flat configurations among women than among men. Unclassified audiograms were common especially among women (17.5%). Subjects reporting hearing difficulties, difficulties in following conversation in noise, or tinnitus, more often had a high-frequency steeply sloping configuration than those not reporting. Conclusions : High-frequency sloping audiogram configurations were common among older adults, and a high-frequency steeply sloping configuration was common among those reporting hearing problems.
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| 2. |
- Hannula, Samuli, et al.
(författare)
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Ear diseases and other risk factors for hearing impairment among adults: An epidemiological study
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 51:11, s. 833-840
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To investigate the prevalence of ear diseases, other otological risk factors potentially affecting hearing, and noise exposure among adults. Furthermore, subject-related factors possibly associated with hearing impairment (HI), i.e. handedness, eye color, and susceptibility to sunburn, were studied. Design: A cross-sectional, unscreened, population-based, epidemiological study among adults. Study sample: The subjects (n = 850), aged 54-66 years, were randomly sampled from the population register. A questionnaire survey, an otological examination, and pure-tone audiometry were performed. Results: Chronic middle-ear disease (both active and inactive) was the most common ear disease with a prevalence of 5.3%, while the prevalence of otosclerosis was 1.3%, and that of Menieres disease, 0.7%. Noise exposure was reported by 46% of the subjects, and it had no effect on hearing among those with no ear disease or other otological risk factors for HI. Dark eye color and non-susceptibility to sunburn were associated with HI among noise-exposed subjects. Conclusions: Common ear diseases and other otological risk factors constitute a major part of the etiologies of HI among adults. Contrary to previous studies, noise exposure turned out to have only marginal effect on hearing among those with no otological risk factors.
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| 3. |
- Hannula, Samuli, et al.
(författare)
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Hearing in a 54-to 66-year-old population in northern Finland
- 2010
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Ingår i: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 49:12, s. 920-927
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are only a few large, population-based epidemiological studies on hearing impairment (HI) in adults. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HI and possible differences between ears in older adults. The subjects (n = 850), aged 54-66 years, were randomly sampled from the population register. A questionnaire survey, an otological examination, and pure-tone audiometry were performed. Another questionnaire was mailed to collect information on non-participants. The prevalence of HI averaged over the frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz for the better ear andgt;= 20 dB HL was 26.7% (men: 36.8%, women: 18.4%). There was no difference between left and right ear pure-tone averages over the frequencies 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz (PTA (0.5-4 kHz)), but a significant difference of -0.8 dB HL was found for the low frequencies 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 kHz (PTA (0.125-0.5 kHz)), and 4.4 dB HL for the high frequencies over 4, 6, and 8 kHz (PTA (4-8 kHz)). In conclusion, HI was a highly prevalent finding in this age group.
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| 4. |
- Hannula, Samuli, et al.
(författare)
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Self-Reported Hearing Problems among Older Adults: Prevalence and Comparison to Measured Hearing Impairment
- 2011
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF AUDIOLOGY. - : American Academy of Audiology. - 1050-0545 .- 2157-3107. ; 22:8, s. 550-559
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There are not many population-based epidemiological studies on the association between self-reported hearing problems and measured hearing thresholds in older adults. Previous studies have shown that the relationship between self-reported hearing difficulties and measured hearing thresholds is unclear and, according to our knowledge, there are no previous population-based studies reporting hearing thresholds among subjects with hyperacusis. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanPurpose: The aim was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported hearing problems, that is, hearing difficulties, difficulties in following a conversation in noise, tinnitus, and hyperacusis, and to compare the results with measured hearing thresholds in older adults. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResearch Design: Cross-sectional, population-based, and unscreened. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanStudy Sample: Random sample of subjects (n = 850) aged 54-66 yr living in the city of Oulu (Finland) and the surrounding areas. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanData Collection and Analysis: Otological examination, pure tone audiometry, questionnaire survey less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults: The prevalence of self-reported hearing problems was 37.1% for hearing difficulties, 43.3% for difficulties in following a conversation in noise, 29.2% for tinnitus, and 17.2% for hyperacusis. More than half of the subjects had no hearing impairment, or HI (BEHL[better ear hearing level](0.5-4 kHz) andlt; 20 dB HL) even though they reported hearing problems. Subjects with self-reported hearing problems, including tinnitus and hyperacusis, had significantly poorer hearing thresholds than those who did not report hearing problems. Self-reported hearing difficulties predicted hearing impairment in the pure-tone average at 4, 6, and 8 kHz, and at the single frequency of 4 kHz. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions: The results indicate that self-reported hearing difficulties are more frequent than hearing impairment defined by audiometric measurement. Furthermore, self-reported hearing difficulties seem to predict hearing impairment at high frequencies (4-8 kHz) rather than at the frequencies of 0.5-4 kHz, which are commonly used to define the degree of hearing impairment in medical and legal issues.
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| 5. |
- Hendrickx, Jan-Jaap, et al.
(författare)
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Familial aggregation of pure tone hearing thresholds in an aging European population
- 2013
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Ingår i: Otology and Neurotology. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 1531-7129 .- 1537-4505. ; 34:5, s. 838-844
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To investigate the familial correlations and intraclass correlation of age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) in specific frequencies. In addition, heritability estimates were calculated.STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter survey in 8 European centers.SUBJECTS: One hundred ninety-eight families consisting of 952 family members, screened by otologic examination and structured interviews. Subjects with general conditions, known to affect hearing thresholds or known otologic cause were excluded from the study.RESULTS: We detected familial correlation coefficients of 0.36, 0.37, 0.36, and 0.30 for 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz, respectively, and correlation coefficients of 0.20 and 0.18 for 4 and 8 kHz, respectively. Variance components analyses showed that the proportion of the total variance attributable to family differences was between 0.32 and 0.40 for 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz and below 0.20 for 4 and 8 kHz. When testing for homogeneity between sib pair types, we observed a larger familial correlation between female than male subjects. Heritability estimates ranged between 0.79 and 0.36 across the frequencies.DISCUSSION: Our results indicate that there is a substantial shared familial effect in ARHI. We found that familial aggregation of ARHI is markedly higher in the low frequencies and that there is a trend toward higher familial aggregation in female compared with male subjects.
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| 6. |
- Huyghe, Jeroen R, et al.
(författare)
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A genome-wide analysis of population structure in the Finnish Saami with implications for genetic association studies
- 2011
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Ingår i: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 19:3, s. 347-352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The understanding of patterns of genetic variation within and among human populations is a prerequisite for successful genetic association mapping studies of complex diseases and traits. Some populations are more favorable for association mapping studies than others. The Saami from northern Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula represent a population isolate that, among European populations, has been less extensively sampled, despite some early interest for association mapping studies. In this paper, we report the results of a first genome-wide SNP-based study of genetic population structure in the Finnish Saami. Using data from the HapMap and the human genome diversity project (HGDP-CEPH) and recently developed statistical methods, we studied individual genetic ancestry. We quantified genetic differentiation between the Saami population and the HGDP-CEPH populations by calculating pair-wise F-ST statistics and by characterizing identity-by-state sharing for pair-wise population comparisons. This study affirms an east Asian contribution to the predominantly European-derived Saami gene pool. Using model-based individual ancestry analysis, the median estimated percentage of the genome with east Asian ancestry was 6% (first and third quartiles: 5 and 8%, respectively). We found that genetic similarity between population pairs roughly correlated with geographic distance. Among the European HGDP-CEPH populations, F-ST was smallest for the comparison with the Russians (F-ST=0.0098), and estimates for the other population comparisons ranged from 0.0129 to 0.0263. Our analysis also revealed fine-scale substructure within the Finnish Saami and warns against the confounding effects of both hidden population structure and undocumented relatedness in genetic association studies of isolated populations.
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| 7. |
- Huyghe, Jeroen R., et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide SNP analysis reveals no gain in power for association studies of common variants in the Finnish Saami
- 2010
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Ingår i: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 18:5, s. 569-574
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Saami from Fennoscandia are believed to represent an ancient, genetically isolated population with no evidence of population expansion. Theoretical work has indicated that under this demographic scenario, extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) is generated by genetic drift. Therefore, it has been suggested that the Saami would be particularly suited for genetic association studies, offering a substantial power advantage and allowing more economic study designs. However, no study has yet assessed this claim. As part of a GWAS for a complex trait, we evaluated the relative power for association studies of common variants in the Finnish Saami. LD patterns in the Saami were very similar to those in the non-African HapMap reference panels. Haplotype diversity was reduced and, on average, levels of LD were higher in the Saami as compared with those in the HapMap panels. However, using a 'hidden' SNP approach we show that this does not translate into a power gain in association studies. Contrary to earlier claims, we show that for a given set of common SNPs, genomic coverage attained in the Saami is similar to that in the non-African HapMap panels. Nevertheless, the reduced haplotype diversity could potentially facilitate gene identification, especially if multiple rare variants play a role in disease etiology. Our results further indicate that the HapMap is a useful resource for genetic studies in the Saami.
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| 8. |
- Van Laer, Lut, et al.
(författare)
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A genome-wide association study for age-related hearing impairment in the Saami
- 2010
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Ingår i: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 18:6, s. 685-693
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aimed at contributing to the elucidation of the genetic basis of age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), a common multifactorial disease with an important genetic contribution as demonstrated by heritability studies. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the Finnish Saami, a small, ancient, genetically isolated population without evidence of demographic expansion. The choice of this study population was motivated by its anticipated higher extent of LD, potentially offering a substantial power advantage for association mapping. DNA samples and audiometric measurements were collected from 352 Finnish Saami individuals, aged between 50 and 75 years. To reduce the burden of multiple testing, we applied principal component (PC) analysis to the multivariate audiometric phenotype. The first three PCs captured 80% of the variation in hearing thresholds, while maintaining biologically important audiometric features. All subjects were genotyped with the Affymetrix 100 K chip. To account for multiple levels of relatedness among subjects, as well as for population stratification, association testing was performed using a mixed model. We summarised the top-ranking association signals for the three traits under study. The top-ranked SNP, rs457717 (P-value 3.55 x 10(-7)), was associated with PC3 and was localised in an intron of the IQ motif-containing GTPase-activating-like protein (IQGAP2). Intriguingly, the SNP rs161927 (P-value 0.000149), seventh-ranked for PC1, was positioned immediately downstream from the metabotropic glutamate receptor-7 gene (GRM7). As a previous GWAS of a European and Finnish sample set already suggested a role for GRM7 in ARHI, this study provides further evidence for the involvement of this gene.
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