Association of the progesterone receptor gene polymorphism (PROGINS) with endometriosis: a meta-analysis

An association between the presence of the variant allele and risk of endometriosis was found, more in the homozygous and recessive models (OR 1.41–1.43, p = 0.15–0.17), and less in the dominant and co-dominant models (OR 1.22, p = 0.11–0.15). Reanalysis without the studies whose controls deviated from the Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium did not materially alter the dominant and co-dominant effects (OR 1.19–1.22, p = 0.19–0.32), but exacerbated the homozygous and recessive effects (OR 1.59, p = 0.09). The subgroups based on geography showed increased risk associations, consistently significant in the European (OR 1.52–2.72, p = 0.0008–0.03) but not in the Brazilian studies, where ORs ranged from reduced (OR 0.70–0.74, p = 0.54–0.61) to increased (OR 1.11, p = 0.75) risks. Heterogeneity was confined in all comparisons to the dominant and co-dominant models (I ² = 38–70 %), except in the European subgroup, which had zero heterogeneity (I ² = 0 %) in all genetic models, as did all homozygous and recessive effects.

This meta-analysis provides a comprehensive profile of the role of the PROGINS polymorphism in endometriosis by exploring the magnitude of the summary effects with modifier analysis. This magnitude is expressed with modulation or exacerbation of the summary effects, as defined by the parameters of the analysis. Thus, the results showed trend towards an increased risk of the variant PROGINS allele and susceptibility for the endometriosis.