Anorexia nervosa and the Val158Met polymorphism of the COMT gene: meta-analysis and new data

Objectives This study aimed to test the association between the Val158Met polymorphism (rs4680) of the catechol-O-methyl transferase gene and anorexia nervosa (AN).

Methods First, an association study on two cohorts (306 cases and 1009 controls from Utrecht, and 174 cases and 466 controls from Leiden/NTR) was performed. Subsequently, the results were integrated into a meta-analysis, together with all the case-control and family-based studies, which were testing the same hypothesis and were available in the literature. Altogether, eight studies (11 datasets) were included in this meta-analysis, with a total of 2021 cases, 2848 controls, and 89 informative (heterozygous) trios.

Results The present association studies found no association between AN and rs4680 when testing the allelic contrast [Utrecht odds ratio (OR) = 1.14, P= 0.14; Leiden OR = 1.02, P = 0.85]. There was an indication of an association under the dominant model of genetic effect in the Utrecht cohort (for the Met allele, OR= 1.42, P = 0.03). Nevertheless, the meta-analyses of both the allelic contrast and the dominant effect were nonsignificant (the allelic pooled OR= 1.03, P = 0.42 and the dominant pooled OR= 1.1, P = 0.18). The meta-analyses were performed under the fixed-effect model and there was no significant heterogeneity among the effect sizes.

Conclusion Meta-analytically combined evidence from the present genotypings and the literature search shows that the effect sizes are homogeneous across studies and that rs4680 is not associated with AN. Psychiatr Genet 22:130-136 (C) 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.