The role of the progesterone receptor PROGINS variant in the development of fibromyalgia syndrome and its psychological findings

Abstract

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), a chronic pain disorder of unknown etiology, is more common in women. This suggests that biological sex is important. Therefore, we performed an analysis to determine whether the progesterone receptor (P GR) gene Alu insertion (named P ROGINS) variant is associated with an increased risk of FMS in the Turkish population. A total of 288 subjects, including 138 patients diagnosed with FMS according to the 2016 American College of Rheumatology criteria and 150 healthy subjects, were evaluated. Genotyping of the P GR P ROGINS variant was determined by polymerase chain reaction (P CR) analysis. The results of the analyses were evaluated for statistical significance. There were no subjects in the control group carrying the T2 allele. The P GR P ROGINS T1/T2 genotype was more prevalent in both all patients and female patients compared to all controls and female controls (p = 0.001, p = 0.003, respectively). A statistically significant relationship was observed in both all patients and female patients when compared to the control group according to T1/T1 vs. T1/T2+T2/T2 (p < 0.000, p < 0.001, respectively). The current study suggests that the P GR Alu insertion variant T2 allele might influence FMS susceptibility in the Turkish population. Large-sample sizes and studies of different ethnicities are required to further evaluate the association between this variant and FMS.