The relationship between the polymorphisms of the CYP17A1 gene and hypertension: A meta-analysis

With the development of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) concerning hypertension, a growing number of susceptibility genes related to hypertension have been revealed. Subsequently, several studies have investigated the association between CYP17A1 rs1004467 heritable variation and hypertension; however, the results have been inconsistent. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between the CYP17A1 rs1004467 polymorphism and hypertension risk.

The PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Embase databases as well as China Wanfang, Weipu and the Chinese Journal Full-text Database were used to retrieve all publications from 2005 to 2013 related to case-control studies that reported a link between the risk factors for hypertension and the CYP17A1 polymorphism. All association studies were identified, and a meta-analysis was conducted using the RevMan 5.0 estimate for odds ratios (ORs) to determine whether the A allele predicts hypertension outcomes.

Three articles including five studies (totaling 4495 patients and 3529 controls) were identified. The overall effect suggested that rs1004467 was significantly associated with hypertension (OR=1.22, 95%CI 1.08-1.38, p=0.001).

The present meta-analysis confirmed the significant association between a polymorphism of the CYP17A1 gene and hypertension susceptibility. The CYP17A1 A allele should be considered a risk factor for hypertension.