title: MTHFR 677C>T and 1298A>C polymorphisms and male infertility risk: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between MTHFR 677C>T and 1298A>C polymorphisms and risk of male infertility. However, the results from the published studies on the association between these two MTHFR polymorphisms and male infertility risk are conflicting. To derive a more precise estimation of association between the MTHFR polymorphisms and risk of male infertility, we performed a meta-analysis. A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all case-control studies of MTHFR polymorphisms and male infertility risk. We used odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of the association. Overall, we found that both 677C>T and 1298A>C polymorphisms were not significantly associated with male infertility risk. However, in stratified analysis by ethnicity, we found that the 677C>T polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of male infertility in Asian population (TT vs. CC: OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.05-2.37, P = 0.03; TT vs. TC + CC: OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.05-1.86, P = 0.02; TT + TC vs. CC: OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.01-1.77, P = 0.04). Although some modest bias could not be eliminated, this meta-analysis suggested that the MTHFR 677T allele might be a low-penetrant risk factor for male infertility, especially in Asian population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Affiliated Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 299 Qingyang Road, Wuxi 214023, China. dr.wei@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Bingbing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Zhuoqun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Deqi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Zeqiao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhirong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) / Q000235:genetics*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)