J Transl Med
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Each year in China, 30,000 babies are born with congenital hearing impairment. However, the molecular etiology of hearing impairment in the Yunnan Province population where more than 52 minorities live has not been thoroughly investigated. To provide appropriate genetic testing and counseling to these families, we investigated the molecular etiology of nonsyndromic deafness in this population. ⋯ In this study, a total of 35.74% deaf patients showed evidence of genetic involvement, based on either genetic screening or family history; 17.45%, 9.79%, and 8.51% of the patients were determined to have inherited hearing impairment caused by GJB2, SLC26A4, and mtDNA 1555A > G mutations. There was no significant difference in deafness associated gene mutational spectrum and frequency between the Yunnan minority and Han patients.