Causal Associations of Genetically Determined Tinnitus With Neuroimaging Traits: Evidence From a Mendelian Randomization Study.
Jing Sun, Xinghao Wang, Jia Li and 9 others
PMID 37798826WHAT IT FOUND
Genetic susceptibility to tinnitus was associated with larger total brain and white matter volume and smaller brain fluid spaces.
Smaller auditory and insular brain volume was associated with higher tinnitus risk. This does not test treatment.
Key findings
01Genetic susceptibility to tinnitus was associated with larger total brain volume, larger white matter volume, and smaller ventricular cerebrospinal fluid volume.
02Reverse analysis suggested that smaller gray matter volume in the left Heschl’s gyrus and right insular cortex, and larger gray matter volume in the posterior division of the left parahippocampal gyrus, were associated with higher tinnitus risk.
03No causal association was found between global gray matter volume and tinnitus in either direction.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Tinnitus was self-reported and defined as noises lasting more than five minutes, with the category 'Yes, now most or all of the time', not clinical diagnosis. Some genetic instruments were weak, with F-statistics less than 10 for several instrumental variables. The summary-level data were from individuals of European ancestry, so the findings may not represent other ancestry groups. Both the tinnitus and brain data came from UK Biobank, so sample overlap could bias the estimates. White matter subregions and cortical thickness or area were not analysed. For some brain regions, checks found heterogeneity or possible pleiotropy, so those estimates are less clean.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these brain-volume findings as proof that tinnitus causes brain changes in a patient or that a therapy can change brain volume. The study compared genetic tendencies with average brain measures from large databases, not treated patients or clinical outcomes.