Association between -590C/T polymorphisms of interleukin-4 gene and periodontitis: A meta-analysis

To evaluate the relationship between-590C/T polymorphisms of interleukin-4 gene and periodontitis by meta-analysis.

Databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP, were searched from their establishment to December 31, 2016. Only case-control studies on the association between-590C/T polymorphisms of interleukin-4 gene and periodontitis were selected, and the references of those selected studies were searched by hand. Assessment and data extraction were conducted by 2 reviewers independently, and the meta-analysis was performed with the R 3.3.1 software.

The meta-analysis showed that there was no association between the IL-4-590C/T polymorphism and periodontitis susceptibility (T vs C: OR＝1.19, 95%CI＝0.81~1.76, P ＝0.37). Subgroup analysis showed that the IL-4-590 TT was associated with periodontitis in Caucasians (TT vs CT: OR＝1.75, 95%CI＝1.10 ~ 2.78, P ＝ 0.02), but no significant association in Asians (P ＝0.63). Meanwhile, IL-4 gene polymorphisms were not significantly associated with the susceptibility of chronic periodontitis (CP) or aggressive periodontitis (Ag P) (e. g. T vs C, CP: P＝0.45; Ag P: P ＝0.45).

Based on current evidence, the polymorphisms of IL-4-590C/T are associated with the increased risk of periodontitis in Caucasians.