Associations of tumor necrosis factor-α polymorphisms with the risk of tuberculosis: a meta-analysis.

Recently, the roles of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) polymorphisms in tuberculosis (TB) were intensively analyzed, but the results of these studies were inconsistent. Therefore, we performed this study to better assess the relationship between TNF-α polymorphisms and the risk of TB. Eligible studies were searched in PubMed, Medline, Embase and CNKI. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess correlations between TNF-α polymorphisms and TB. A total of 31 studies were included for analyses. Significant associations with the risk of TB were detected for TNF-α -308 G/A and -857 C/T polymorphisms in overall analyses. Further subgroup analyses based on ethnicity of participants revealed that TNF-α -238 G/A, -308 G/A, -857 C/T and -863 C/A polymorphisms were all significantly associated with the risk of TB in East Asians. When we stratified available data according to type of disease, we found that TNF-α -238 G/A and -308 G/A polymorphisms were significantly correlated with the risk of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB), while the -857 C/T polymorphism was significantly correlated with the risk of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). In conclusion, our findings indicated that TNF-α -238 G/A, -308 G/A, -857 C/T and -863 C/A polymorphisms may serve as potential biological markers for TB in East Asians. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.