The association between interleukin 6 −174 G/C gene polymorphism and the risk of osteoporosis: A meta-analysis

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the association between the IL6 −174 G/C gene polymorphism and the risk of osteoporosis by performing a meta-analysis.MethodsPublished literature from PubMed and Embase databases was searched for eligible publications. The following information was extracted from each study: Name of first author, year of publication, country of origin, sample size of cases and controls, and size of each allele. The combined odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for the association between the IL6 −174 G/C gene polymorphism and the risk of osteoporosis were assessed using a random or fixed effects model. A comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA) 2.0 was used to analyse the data.ResultsTwelve studies (4923 cases/3431 controls) were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that IL6 −174 G/C gene polymorphism was associated with an increased (G vs C, OR 95%CI = 1.29 [1.03-1.62], p = 0.029) and decreased risk of osteoporosis (C vs G, OR 95%CI = 0.77 [0.62-0.97], p = 0.029; CC vs GG + GC, OR 95%CI = 0.58 [0.39-0.88], p = 0.010).ConclusionThe IL6 −174 G/C gene polymorphism was shown to be positively correlated with osteoporosis risk.