The β1-adrenoreceptor gene Arg389Gly and Ser49Gly polymorphisms and hypertension: a meta-analysis

The gene encoding β1-adrenoreceptor is regarded as a hypertension-susceptibility candidate gene. The association of β1-adrenoreceptor gene Arg389Gly and Ser49Gly polymorphisms with hypertension has been exhaustively investigated; however, the studies have yielded inconsistent results. We sought to shed some light on this inconsistency by performing a systemic meta-analysis. Data were extracted from 17 articles (cases/controls: 7,586/8,441) for Arg389Gly, and eight articles (3,582/2,998) for Ser49Gly. The random-effects model was applied irrespective of between-study heterogeneity. Overall results indicated significance for Ser49Gly under both allelic (odds ratio = 1.13; 95 % confidence interval [95 % CI] 1.03-1.26; P = 0.011) and dominant (1.19; 1.04-1.28; 0.011) models, without evidence of heterogeneity (I (2) = 0.0 %). Grouping studies by ethnicity observed marginally significant association for Arg389Gly (0.82; 0.66-1.0; 0.049) and Ser49Gly (1.3; 1.0-1.68; 0.048) polymorphisms in Caucasians under allelic model. Association was strikingly potentiated for both polymorphisms after restricting analyses to studies published in English journals. When only large studies (≥500 subjects) were considered, 389Gly allele decreased the odds of developing hypertension by 16 % (0.84; 0.74-0.95; 0.007). There was no observable publication bias for both polymorphisms. Taken together, our results provide clarification to the logical candidacy of β1-adrenoreceptor gene in the development of hypertension.