Association between G-217A polymorphism in the AGT gene and essential hypertension: a meta-analysis

Numerous studies have evaluated the association between the angiotensinogen (AGT) G-217A gene polymorphism and essential hypertension risk. However, the results have been inconsistent. We examined whether the AGT G-217A gene polymorphism confers essential hypertension risk by conducting a meta-analysis. We conducted a literature search of the Google Scholar, PubMed, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases for relevant studies that examined the G-217A polymorphism and risk of essential hypertension. Statistical analyses were carried out using Stata 12.0 to combine all relevant studies. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated to estimate the strength of this association. A total of 2017 patients with psoriasis and 1708 controls from 7 comparative studies were included in this meta-analysis. We found a significant association between the AGT G-217A gene polymorphism and the risk of essential hypertension (AA vs GG: OR = 2.52, 95%CI = 1.68-3.78; AA vs GA: OR = 2.26, 95%CI = 1.48-3.45; dominant model: OR = 0.38, 95%CI = 0.26-0.57; recessive model: OR = 1.20, 95%CI = 1.03-1.39). Further stratified analyses were conducted by ethnicity and sample size and produced similar results. No evidence of publication bias was found. This meta-analysis confirms that the AGT G-217A gene polymorphism is associated with essential hypertension susceptibility.