Association Between COMT Gene Polymorphism (rs4680) and Familial Incidence of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD): A Case Control Study

Abstract

Objectives: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are a growing public health concern affecting the individual’squality of life. The aim of the study was to determine the genetic associations of COMT gene polymorphism (rs4680) in patients with family history of TMD with different etiologies.

Materials and Methods: It was a case control study. Cases included 63 Male and female patients aged 17-45 years and presented with TMD and reported a family history of TMD. Controls included 63 age, gender, and ethnicity matched healthy individuals having no TMD and with no family history of TMD. After getting an informed consent from the patients, Peripheral blood was taken to extract DNA and genotyped for COMT polymorphism (rs4680) by Tetra-ARMS PCR. The association was determined by calculating odds ratio and 95% confidence interval.

Results: The genotypic and allelic frequencies were computed using a 2*2 contingency table to find out the association between genetic polymorphism and family history of TMD we found a significant p value for AA genotype p = (0.0002) and for A allele p = (0.00004), however the GA genotype did not reach the level of statistical significance.

Conclusion: In the current study, we found that COMT gene polymorphism (rs4680) i.e., AA genotype and A allele is significantly associated with the risk of development TMD.