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

Objective: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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). Conclusions: 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.