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The Association between COMT Val158Met Polymorphism and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Risk: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Genetic factors were suggested to have influence on the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The possible association between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and PTSD has been evaluated in several studies. But the results were still controversial. Therefore, we conduct this meta-analysis to address these issues. Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for eligible studies. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to estimate the association between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and PTSD. Results: Five articles including 6 studies with 893 cases and 968 controls were finally included in the present meta-analysis. The pooled analyses did not demonstrate a significant association between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and PTSD in any of the selected genetic models: allele model (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.97–1.31), dominant model (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.93–1.46), recessive model (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 0.78–2.66), and additive model (OR = 1.54, 95% CI: 0.85–2.80). Subgroup analyses suggested that the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium status of genotype distributions could influence the relationship of COMT Val158Met polymorphism and PTSD. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis suggested that the COMT Val158Met polymorphism may not be associated with the PTSD risk. Further large-scale and population-representative studies are warranted to evaluate the impact of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism on the risk of PTSD.