5-HTTLPR polymorphism in bulimia nervosa: a multiple-model meta-analysis.

Several lines of research have found that genes in the serotonergic system may cause susceptibility to eating disorders (EDs). In particular, functional polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) have been suspected to play a role in the pathogenesis of eating disorders. Several studies have examined the association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and bulimia nervosa (BN). The results of these investigations have been unclear. The aims of this meta-analysis were to clarify the association between BN and 5-HTTLPR using statistical models not used by previous meta-analyses, and extend upon previous meta-analyses by including new samples. PsychINFO, ISI, and PubMed databases were searched for studies published up to May 2011. Ultimately, six case-control samples were included. Data were pooled using dominant and additive models. Both models showed a nonsignificant association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and BN. However, this does not detract from recent research suggesting that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism may be responsible for the phenotypic variability in the psychopathological symptoms observed in patients with BN. Future research should examine the association of BN with 5-HTTLPR using the recently proposed triallelic model.