Association of the rs1611115 polymorphism in DBH gene with Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between the dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) rs1611115 genetic polymorphism and Parkinson's disease (PD). A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all case-control or cohort studies. The fixed or random effect-pooled measure was selected on the basis of a homogeneity test among studies. Heterogeneity among studies was evaluated using the I-2. We performed sensitivity analyses to evaluate the robustness of the results. Publication bias was estimated using Egger's linear regression test. Five case-control studies corresponded to the inclusion criteria comprising 3926 patients and 3542 controls which were included in the present meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis showed no significant association between DBH rs1611115 genetic polymorphism and risk of PD in the codominant (REM, OR=1.017, 95%CI=0.854-1.210), dominant (REM, OR=0.989, 95%CI=0.826-1.185), and recessive (REM, OR=1.007, 95%CI=0.657-1.542) models. Moreover, in the subgroup analysis based on region (Asia and Europe), no significant associations were observed in Asia or Europe. This meta-analysis suggests that the DBH rs1611115 genetic polymorphism might not be associated with PD.