Systematic review/Meta-analysis Association of STAT4 gene rs7574865G > T polymorphism with ulcerative colitis risk: evidence from 1532 cases and 3786 controls

• Published in: Archives of medical science 2014-05, Vol.3 (3), p.419-424
• Main Authors: Xu, Ling, Dai, Wei-Qi, Wang, Fan, He, Lei, Zhou, Ying-Qun, Lu, Jie, Xu, Xuan-Fu, Guo, Chuan-Yong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1734-1922; 1896-9151
• DOI: 10.5114/aoms.2014.43735

Introduction: Several studies have reported the relationship between the STAT4 rs7574865G > T polymorphism as a susceptibility factor to ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the results have been controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to obtain the most reliable estimate of the association. Material and methods: PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched. Crude odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were extracted and pooled to assess the strength of the association between the STAT4 rs7574865G > T polymorphism and risk of UC. A total of five eligible studies including 1532 cases and 3786 controls based on the search criteria were involved in this meta-analysis. Results: We observed that the STAT4 rs7574865G > T polymorphism was significantly correlated with UC risk when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis (the allele contrast model: OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.02-1.25; the heterozygote codominant model: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.04-1.43; the dominant model: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.07-1.45). In the stratified analysis by ethnicity, significant associations were observed in Spanish for the allele contrast model (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.04-1.39), for the homozygote codominant model (OR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.07-2.31), for the dominant model (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.01-1.43), and for the recessive model (OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.03-2.19). Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that the STAT4 rs7574865G > T polymorphism is a low-penetrant risk factor for UC, especially in Spanish.