Polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor gene and susceptibility to Behcet's disease: an updated meta-analysis.
OBJECTIVE
Studies investigating the association between the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) gene polymorphisms and Behcet's disease (BD) report conflicting results. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the association between TNF gene polymorphisms and BD.


METHODS
A systematic literature search was conducted to identify all relevant studies. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the strength of the association.


RESULTS
A total of 16 articles, involving 1,708 patients with BD and 1,910 healthy controls, were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, a significant association was found between BD and the TNF -308A/G polymorphism (OR = 0.730, 95% CI = 0.608-0.877, p = 0.001). Meta-analysis of TNF -238A/G showed significant association with BD (OR = 1.512, 95% CI = 1.155-1.979, p = 0.003). The TNF -1031C allele showed significant association with BD (OR = 1.549, 95% CI = 1.190-2.015, p = 0.001). Similarly, the meta-analysis showed a significant association of the TNF -857T/C polymorphism with BD (OR = 0.758, 95% CI = 0.593-0.968, p = 0.027). Stratification by ethnicity revealed that the -308A/G and -857T/C polymorphisms were associated with BD in the Asian group, while the -238A/G and -1031C/T polymorphisms were associated with BD in the Caucasian population.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of our meta-analysis suggest that TNF (-308A/G, -238A/G, -1031C/T, and -857T/C) polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to BD.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, PR China ; Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Population Health & Major Disease Screening and Diagnosis, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, PR China.
Min
M
Zhang
Wang-Dong
WD
Xu
Peng-Fei
PF
Wen
Yan
Y
Liang
Jie
J
Liu
Hai-Feng
HF
Pan
Dong-Qing
DQ
Ye
D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D017594:Publication Bias; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
C439524:TNF protein, human; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha