Influence of ESR1 variants on clinical characteristics and fibromyalgia syndrome in Turkish women.

BACKGROUND Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain. It is more common in women than in men, and sex hormones may play a role in this predominance. Therefore, this research investigated whether Estrogen-α (ESR1) gene variants are associated with FMS and clinical findings among Turkish females. Methods: A total of 219 individuals were enrolled in this study. ESR1 variants (PvuII/XbaI) were genotyped using PCRRFLP methods. The results of the analyses were evaluated for statistical significance. Results: There was a significant association between the ESR1 PvuII and FMS risk among Turkish women. The ESR1 PvuII CC genotype and C allele were higher in the patients than those in the controls (p=0.021, p=0.007, respectively). A more statistically significant association was observed between the patients and the controls in terms of TT genotype vs. TC+CC genotypes (p=0.022). Also, there was a statistically significant association between the patients and the controls in terms of TT+TC genotype vs. CC genotypes (p =0.028). There was no significant association between patients and the control group concerning the genotype distribution and allele frequencies of ESR1 XbaI (p>0.05). Headache was seen more frequently in the XbaI GA genotype (p=0.025), while XbaI AA genotype was associated with dysmenorrhea in patients with FMS (p=0.041). Conclusion: Our results indicate that ESR1 PvuII/XbaI variants are possibly effective in the development of FMS and some clinical features.