title: Meta-analysis of association between the -2578C/A polymorphism of the vascular endothelial growth factor and retinopathy in type 2 diabetes in Asians and Caucasians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been shown to play an important role in the development and progress of diabetic retinopathy (DR). A number of case-control studies focused on the association between VEGF -2578C/A and risk for DR. But the results were not always consistent, so we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the precise association between this variant and risk for DR.
  
  
  METHODS
  All publications on the association between VEGF -2578C/A polymorphism and DR were searched in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, with the last report up to January 2013. This meta-analysis was assessed by Review Manager 5.1.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 6 studies were involved in this meta-analysis, including 835 cases and 867 controls. Overall, we found a significant association between this polymorphism and DR (A vs. C: OR=1.49, 95% CI=1.26-1.77, p<0.00001; AA vs. CA+CC: OR=1.26, 95% CI=0.94-1.68, p=0.12; AA+CA vs. CC: OR=1.56, 95% CI=1.27-1.91, p<0.00001; AA vs. CC: OR=1.67, 95% CI=1.20-2.32, p=0.003; CA vs. CC: OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.21-1.87, p=0.0002), but we did not find any significant association in Caucasians in subgroup analysis. The results were not materially altered after the studies which did not fulfill the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were excluded.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our meta-analysis supports the association between the VEGF -2578C/A polymorphism and DR, but not in the Caucasian population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jin-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Li-Shuang
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Rui-Li
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Ji-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: You
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiao-Ye
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A