title: No evidence for a role of the catechol-O-methyltransferase pain sensitivity haplotypes in chronic widespread pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) 'pain sensitivity' haplotypes and chronic widespread pain (CWP) in two distinct cohorts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases of CWP and controls free of pain were selected from two population-based studies: the Epidemiology of Functional Disorders study (EPIFUND) (UK) and the European Male Ageing Study (European). The number of cases and controls were 164 and 172, and 204 and 935, respectively. Identical American College of Rheumatology criteria were used in both studies to ascertain CWP status. The EPIFUND study had three time points and cases were classified as subjects with CWP at two or three time points and controls as those free of pain at all three time points. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP): rs6269, rs4633, rs4818 and rs4680 (V158M) were genotyped using Sequenom technology. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared and haplotype analysis was conducted using PLINK software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences in allele or genotype frequencies for any of the four SNP were observed between cases and controls for either cohort. Haplotype analysis also showed no difference in the frequency of haplotypes between cases and controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no evidence of association between the COMT 'pain sensitivity' haplotypes and CWP in two population-based cohorts.
authors.affiliation: Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Barbara I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Nicholl
authors.forename: Kate L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Holliday
authors.forename: Gary J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Macfarlane
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Kelly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: Terence W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: Gyorgy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bartfai
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boonen
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Casanueva
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Forti
authors.forename: Aleksander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giwercman
authors.forename: Ilpo T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Huhtaniemi
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kula
authors.forename: Margus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Punab
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Silman
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vanderschueren
authors.forename: Frederick C W
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McBeth
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D002394:Catechol O-Methyltransferase