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Original Article
 

Interferon-g +874A/T Polymorphism Is Associated With Asthma Risk: A Meta-analysis
 

W Nie,1* L Meng,2* X Wang,3* Q Xiu3

1Department of Internal Medicine, The 425th Hospital of PLA, Sanya, China
2Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
3Department of Respiratory Disease, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
*These authors contributed equally to this work.

J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2014; Vol. 24(5): 324-330
 

 Abstract


Background: Results regarding the association between the interferon-γ (IFN-γ) +874A/T polymorphism and asthma risk are controversial and ambiguous. The aim of this study was to determine with greater precision the relationship between the IFN-γ +874A/T polymorphism and asthma using a meta-analysis.

Methods: Published literature was retrieved from 5 databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI] and Weipu). ORs with 95% CIs were used to assess the strength of association.

Results: Ten case-control studies involving 697 cases and 1049 controls were identified. In the overall analysis, a significant association between the +874A/T polymorphism and asthma susceptibility was found for AA vs AT + TT (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.37-2.62; P=.0001). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significant associations were found among whites (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.04-1.93; P=.03) and Asians (OR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.49-4.25; P=.0006). The sensitivity analysis and cumulative meta-analysis further strengthened the validity of this association. No publication bias was observed in this study.

Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis suggest that the IFN-γ +874A/T polymorphism is a risk factor for asthma.

Key words: Interleukin-γ. Asthma. Polymorphism. Meta-analysis.