ABO blood group and cochlear function: evidence from a large sample size study

Abstract

Objective

The present study investigated the effect of blood group on cochlear function in a large participant sample across different age groups. The study hypothesis was that participants with blood group O would show relatively reduced cochlear function as reflected in otoacoustic emission (OAE) measures.

Design

Data were collected from transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE), distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), DPOAE input/output (I/O) function, and spontaneous otoacoustic emission (SOAE) recordings.

Study sample

Four hundred and sixty-three normal hearing adults aged 20–59 years among the four ABO blood groups participated in the study.

Results

TEOAE and DPOAE amplitudes did not reveal significant differences for participants with blood group O compared with participants with non-O blood groups. No significant differences in I/O function categories were found among participants with different blood groups. SOAE prevalence was also not significantly different across blood groups. However, previously reported age and gender differences for OAE variables were confirmed.

Conclusions

Participants with blood group O were not found to have significantly reduced cochlear function, based on OAE measures. Results from the current study do not support the hypothesis that normal hearing individuals with different ABO blood groups differ in level of cochlear function.

Keywords:

• ABO blood group
• cochlear function
• hearing loss
• otoacoustic emissions

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Hong Kong University Grants Committee (General Research Fund; grant number 17108218. The researchers thank Dr. Joannie Yu and Conrad Wong for assistance with data collection, Alice Lo for participant recruitment support, and Nic Cheng for appointment co-ordination.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University Grants Committee [17108218].