RORA polymorphisms are risk factors for allergic rhinitis susceptibility in the Shaanxi Han population

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most common inflammatory disorder induced by complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Genetic predisposition is the most important factor in the progression of AR. Previous studies have indicated that RORA is involved in the occurrence of AR. The present study aimed to determine the roles of RORA polymorphisms in AR susceptibility.

Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 990 patients with AR and 1004 normal controls. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the RORA gene were detected by MassARRAY iPLEX platform. The associations of RORA polymorphisms with AR risk were determined according to logistic regression analysis. We further evaluated the impact of SNP-SNP interaction on AR risk using multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method.

Results: Our results showed that rs10519067 (OR 0.38, p = 0.021), rs10519068 (OR 0.45, p = 0.030), and rs11071559 (OR 0.83, p = 0.032) were significantly related to a decreased susceptibility to AR. Stratified analyses found that rs10519067 (OR 0.71, p = 0.046) and rs10519068 (OR 0.63, p = 0.010) could decrease the risk of AR in males. Rs10519068 (OR 0.73, p = 0.022), rs11071559 (OR 0.77, p = 0.041), and rs9302216 (OR 0.38, p = 0.017) significantly reduced the susceptibility to AR in people aged > 43 years. Furthermore, it was found that rs10519067 (OR 0.29, p = 0.032), rs10519068 (OR 0.72, p = 0.013), and rs11071559 (OR 0.36, p = 0.015) had a protective effect on AR patients with BMI ≤ 24 kg/m². MDR revealed that the combination of rs10519067, rs10519068, rs11071559, and rs9302216 was the best predictive model for AR.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that RORA polymorphisms may play a protective role in the development of AR.