Affiliations: The Center of Clinical Aviation Medicine, General Hospital of Air Force, Beijing, China
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Xian-Rong Xu, The Center of Clinical Aviation Medicine, General Hospital of Air Force, Beijing 100142, China. E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Ménière's disease (MD) is defined as
an idiopathic disorder of the inner ear characterized by the triad of
tinnitus, vertigo, and sensorineural hearing loss. Although many studies
have evaluated the association between variants in the KCNE1 or KCNE3 gene
and MD risk, debates still exist. OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to evaluate the association between KCNE gene
variants, including KCNE1 rs1805127 and KCNE3 rs2270676, and the risk of MD
by a systematic review. METHODS: We searched the literature in PubMed, SCOPUS and
EMBASE through May 2015. We calculated pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95%
confidence intervals (CIs) using a fixed-effects model or a random-effects
model for the risk to MD associated with different KCNE gene variants. The
heterogeneity assumption decided the effect model. RESULTS: A total of three relevant studies, with 302 MD
cases and 515 controls, were included in this meta-analysis. The results
indicated that neither the KCNE1 rs1805127 variant (for G vs. A: OR = 0.724,
95%CI 0.320, 1.638, P= 0.438), nor the KCNE3 rs2270676 variant (for T vs.
C: OR = 0.714, 95%CI 0.327, 1.559, P = 0.398) was associated with MD risk. CONCLUSIONS: Based on current evidence from published
studies, neither of the two variants from KCNE was significantly associated
with the risk of MD. Larger studies with mixed ethnicity subjects and
stratified by clinical and sub-clinical characteristics are needed to
validate our findings.
