Association of polymorphisms in the AGT gene(M235T, T174M) with ischemic stroke in the Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: The angiotensinogen (AGT) gene polymorphisms has been shown to be involved in the development of ischemic stroke. However, the published studies have yielded inconsistent results. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the correlation.

METHODS: Published literature from PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI and Wanfang Data was searched. The association was assessed by odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Publication bias was also calculated.

RESULTS: Eight studies (1636 cases and 1433 controls) on M235T polymorphism and four studies (726 cases and 495 controls) on T174M polymorphism were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that M235T polymorphism was significantly associated with risk of ischemic stroke risk (TT vs. MM: OR=2.60, 95% CI=1.77-3.83; MT vs. MM: OR=1.37, 95% CI=1.01-1.86; TT+MT vs. MM: OR=0.43, 95% CI=0.35-0.54; MM+MT vs. TT: OR=1.74, 95% CI=1.31-2.32). There was also significant association between T174M polymorphism and ischemic stroke risk (MM vs. TT: OR=3.66, 95% CI=1.89-7.08; TT+MT vs. MM: OR=0.28, 95% CI=0.14-0.54). Further sensitivity analysis confirmed the significant association between AGT gene polymorphisms and risk of ischemic stroke. No evidence indicated publication bias.

CONCLUSIONS: The meta-analysis indicated the significant association of AGT gene polymorphisms (M235T, T174M) with risk of ischemic stroke in the Chinese population.