Association of CYP11B2 polymorphisms with susceptibility to primary aldosteronism: a meta-analysis

The association of CYP11B2 gene polymorphisms with the risk of primary aldosteronism (PA) was controversial in previous studies. Here we selected two commonly studied CYP11B2 alleles: T-344C, A2718G to explore their associations with PA risk by meta-analyses of published case-control studies. Six electronic databases were searched for relevant studies up to November 2012. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random or fixed effects model. Seven studies (621 cases and 1027 controls) on T-344C polymorphism, three studies (327 cases and 336 controls) on A2718G polymorphism were finally included. Then significant association was observed between T-344C polymorphism and idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA) under three genetic models (CC vs TT, OR=0.544, 95%CI=0.324~0.914; CT vs TT, OR=0.554, 95%CI=0.406~0.757; CC+CT vs TT, OR=0.542, 95%CI=0.402~0.731). But patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma had no significant association with T-344C polymorphism under all genetic models except CT vs TT model. Concerning A2718G polymorphism, a decreased PA risk was observed only under GG+GA vs AA model. But this association disappeared after removing the studies not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The evidence accumulated suggested that -344C allele may be associated with decreased risk of IHA and there was still no enough evidence to indicate the association of A2718G polymorphism with PA risk.