Association of polymorphisms in the catalase gene with the susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss: A meta-analysis

The association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Catalase (CAT) gene and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been reported in several case-control studies. However, their conclusions are conflicting. This study aimed to determine the association between CAT genetic variants and NIHL susceptibility. We searched PubMed, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang, and Web of Science for eligible English and Chinese studies published up to September 26, 2021. Studies reporting primary data that assessed the association between CAT SNPs and NIHL susceptibility were included. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). The odds ratio (OR), 95 % confidence interval (CI), and P value were calculated to assess the strength of the association. Publication bias was explored using funnel plots and Egger's test. Our meta-analysis included six articles involving 1428 patients and 2162 healthy controls. For rs208679, a significant association was detected in the allele model (A vs. G: OR = 0.81 [95 % CI, 0.67–0.97], P = 0.02) and the dominant model (AA vs. GG + AG: OR = 0.78 [95 % CI, 0.62–0.98], P = 0.03), but not in the heterozygote model, homozygote model, or the recessive model. For rs769217, rs7943316, and rs769214, no significant association was found in any genetic model. No significant publication bias was observed. The rs208679 may be used in the Chinese population as a risk predictor for NIHL. While the rs769217, rs7943316, and rs769214 polymorphisms were not found to be associated with susceptibility to NIHL. Further studies with a larger population and higher quality are required to update the results. •We systematically evaluated the association between CAT gene polymorphisms and NIHL susceptibility.•The results suggested that CAT gene polymorphism in rs208679 was associated with NIHL in Chinese.•The allele model (A vs. G) and the dominant model (AA vs. GG + AG) in rs208679 may be genetic risk factors for NIHL.•The CAT gene polymorphisms might act as a genetic biomarker for early clinical screening and prevention of NIHL.