FGB gene - 148C>T polymorphism is associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke in a Chinese population: a meta-analysis based on 18 case-control studies.

Background: Several published articles investigated the relationship between a polymorphism -148C>T in the β-fibrinogen gene (FGB) and risk of ischemic stroke, and did not reach the same conclusion. To shed light on these inconclusive findings, we performed a meta-analysis of studies relating the FGB genetic polymorphism (-148C>T) to the risk of ischemic stroke.

Methods: We identified articles by searching PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases (CNKI), and Wanfang database in China and by reviewing the references of retrieved articles. We included studies that reported odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between the FGB -148C>T polymorphism and stroke risk. Data from eligible studies were extracted for meta-analysis. Stroke risk associated with FGB -148C>T polymorphism was estimated by pooled ORs and 95% CIs. The software Review Manager (version 5.2) was utilized for meta-analysis. Publication bias was tested by funnel plot.

Results: Eighteen independent case-control studies containing 2159 ischemic stroke patients and 3222 control subjects were included. Our results showed that -148C>T polymorphism in the FBG gene was associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke ([TT+CT] vs. CC: OR=1.40, 95% CI [1.20-1.45], p<0.0001; T vs. C: OR=1.35, 95% CI [1.18-1.56], p<0.0001, respectively] by a meta-analysis.

Conclusion: The results of our meta-analysis suggested that the-148C>T polymorphism in the FGB gene is a susceptibility marker of ischemic stroke.