Association Between Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase Gene Polymorphisms and Fibromyalgia in a Korean Population: A Case-Control Study

Yi-Rang Yim¹, Dong-Jin Park², Seong-Ho Kim³, Seong-Su Nah⁴, Ji Hyun Lee⁵, Seong-Kyu Kim⁶, Yeon-Ah Lee⁷, Seung-Jae Hong⁸, Hyun-Sook Kim⁹, Hye-Soon Lee¹⁰, Hyoun-Ah Kim¹¹, Chung-Il Joung¹², Sang-Hyon Kim¹³ and Shin-Seok Lee¹, ¹Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital, Gwangju, South Korea, ²Rheumatology, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital, Gwangju, South Korea, ³Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital, Busan, South Korea, ⁴Soonchunhyang University, College of Medicine, Cheonan, South Korea, ⁵Internal Medicine, Maryknoll Medical Center, Busan, South Korea, ⁶Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea, ⁷Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea, ⁸Dept. of Rheumatology, #1 Hoeg, KyungHee University Medical Center, SEOUL, South Korea, ⁹Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea, ¹⁰Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Seoul, South Korea, ¹¹Ajou University Hospital, Suwon, South Korea, ¹²Internal Medicine, Konyang University Medical School, Daejeon, South Korea, ¹³Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea

Meeting: 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Date of first publication: September 29, 2015

Keywords: fibromyalgia

Session Information

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Title: Fibromyalgia, Soft Tissue Disorders, Regional and Specific Clinical Pain Syndromes Poster II

Session Type: ACR Poster Session C

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: Although polymorphisms of the catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) gene have been implicated in altered pain sensitivity, results concerning the association between COMT gene polymorphisms and FM are equivocal. The present, large-scale case-control study assessed the associations between COMT single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and FM risk and symptom severity.

Methods: In total, 409 FM patients and 423 controls were enrolled. Alleles and genotypes at five positions [rs6269 (A>G), rs4633 (C>T), rs4818 (C>G), rs4680 (C>G) and rs165599 (A>G)] in the COMT gene were genotyped from peripheral blood DNA. Associations between COMT SNPs, FM susceptibility and FM patient clinical measures were assessed.

Results: Alleles and genotypes of the rs4818 COMT gene polymorphism were significantly associated with increased susceptibility to FM. The rs4818 GG genotype was more strongly associated with susceptibility to FM compared to the CC genotype (OR = 1.681). Although allele and genotype frequencies did not differ among groups, the rs4633 CT genotype was protective against FM following adjustment for age and sex (OR = 0.745). However, no association was observed between clinical measures and individual COMT SNPs. In haplotype analysis, there was a significant association between ACG haplotype and FM susceptibility (OR = 2.960) and the number of tender points (P = 0.046).

Conclusion: This large-scale study suggests that polymorphisms of the COMT gene may be associated with FM risk and pain sensitivity in Korean FM patients. However, our results differed to those of previous studies using Caucasian or Latin-American populations, suggesting ethnic variation in COMT gene polymorphisms in FM.

Disclosure: Y. R. Yim, None; D. J. Park, None; S. H. Kim, None; S. S. Nah, None; J. H. Lee, None; S. K. Kim, None; Y. A. Lee, None; S. J. Hong, None; H. S. Kim, None; H. S. Lee, None; H. A. Kim, None; C. I. Joung, None; S. H. Kim, None; S. S. Lee, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Yim YR, Park DJ, Kim SH, Nah SS, Lee JH, Kim SK, Lee YA, Hong SJ, Kim HS, Lee HS, Kim HA, Joung CI, Kim SH, Lee SS. Association Between Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase Gene Polymorphisms and Fibromyalgia in a Korean Population: A Case-Control Study [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/association-between-catechol-o-methyl-transferase-gene-polymorphisms-and-fibromyalgia-in-a-korean-population-a-case-control-study/. Accessed .

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