Genetic polymorphisms of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) are associated with functional dyspepsia in Japanese women.

BACKGROUND

Prostaglandins (PGs), catalyzed from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase (COX), are involved in a variety of physiological processes in the stomach. COX-1 has been regarded as a constitutively expressed enzyme that generates prostaglandins for gastrointestinal integrity. We investigated the association between the potentially functional polymorphism T-1676C in the COX-1 gene promoter and functional dyspepsia (FD) in the Japanese population.

METHODS

The study was performed in 272 subjects (185 with no upper abdominal symptoms and 87 with FD). We employed the PCR-SSCP method to detect the gene polymorphism.

RESULTS

Overall, female sex had a 2-2.5-fold risk for the development of FD compared with male sex, whereas the COX-1 gene polymorphism and Helicobacter pylori infection were not associated with susceptibility to FD. However, in female subjects, -1676T allele carriers had a significantly increased risk for the development of FD (OR 2.70, 95%CI 1.04-6.99, p = 0.041), especially the epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) subgroup (OR 4.07, 95%CI 1.15-14.4, p = 0.029).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide the first evidence that the COX-1 gene polymorphism is significantly associated with the development of the EPS subgroup of FD in female subjects.