Polymorphism near the ATP2B1 gene is associated with hypertension risk in East Asians: A meta-analysis involving 15 909 cases and 18 529 controls

Objective. Recent genome-wide association studies showed that the rs2681472 polymorphism near the ATP2B1 gene was associated with hypertension susceptibility in Europeans. Subsequently, several studies have investigated the association among East Asian populations. However, the results have been inconsistent. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to assess the association of the ATP2B1 rs2681472 polymorphism with hypertension risk in East Asians. Methods. Published literature from PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Embase databases were retrieved. All studies evaluating the association between rs2681472 (rs17249754 or rs11105378) and hypertension risk in East Asians were included. Pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using fixed- or random-effects model. Results. Seven studies (15 909 cases/18 529 controls) were identified. The results suggested that rs2681472 was significantly associated with hypertension risk in East Asians (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.10-1.27, p = 0.000). Sensitivity analysis confirmed the positive association. No publication bias was detected (Begg's test, p = 0.368; Egger's test, p = 0.346). Conclusions. The present meta-analysis confirmed the significant association of the ATP2B1 gene polymorphism with hypertension susceptibility in East Asians. Further studies that include gene-gene and gene-environment interactions should be considered to investigate the identified associations in the future.