title: Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) Polymorphism and the Risk of Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis among East Asians: A Meta-Analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene has been implicated in the development of alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC) in East Asians. However, the results are inconsistent. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to assess the associations between the ALDH2 polymorphism and the risk of ALC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Relevant studies were retrieved by searching PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang and Veipu databases up to January 10, 2015. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using either the fixed- or random effects model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of twelve case-control studies included 1003 cases and 2011 controls were included. Overall, the ALDH2 polymorphism was associated with a decreased risk of ALC (*1/*2 vs. *1/*1: OR=0.78, 95% CI: 0.61-0.99). However, in stratification analysis by country, we failed to detect any association among Chinese, Korean or Japanese populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pooled evidence suggests that ALDH2 polymorphism may be an important protective factor for ALC in East Asians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. dengtao1120@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Hesheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D065840:Protective Factors
chemical_list: C096127:ALDH2 protein, human; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial
keywords: ALDH2; alcoholic liver cirrhosis; meta-analysis; polymorphism