Association of FKBP5 gene variants with depression susceptibility: A comprehensive meta-analysis

Background: This comprehensive meta-analysis aimed to combine data from different studies and to estimate the association between FKBP5 polymorphisms and depression.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of observational studies. An electronic search was conducted on four databases for articles published before July 1, 2020.

Results: A total of 5125 patients with depression and 8399 controls from 16 independent studies were included in the analysis. The results showed that FKBP5 rs1360780 was associated with the risk of depression in the codominant model (CT vs. CC; OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.00-1.20, P = .04); rs4713916 polymorphism was associated with depression in the codominant model (AG vs. GG; OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.05-1.34, P = .008) and recessive model (AA vs. AG + GG; OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.56-0.99, P = .04); a significant association between rs3800373 and depression was found in the codominant genetic model (AC vs. AA; OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.05-1.34, P = .007) and dominant model (CC + AC vs. AA; OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.03-1.30, P = .02); there was no significant association of FKBP5 rs9470080 or rs9296158 with depression in any genetic model (P > .05). No publication bias was observed in our analysis. Moreover, sensitivity analyses demonstrated the Zobel's study significantly affected the heterogeneity for rs4713916 and rs3800373.

Conclusions: FKBP5 rs1360780 was associated with an increased risk of depression in the codominant model. We also found that rs4713916 and rs3800373 were involved in depression, rs4713916 was positively associated with depression in the codominant model and recessive model, and rs3800373 was related to an elevated risk of depression in the codominant model and dominant model.