1. Clinical Research Unit, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Introduction
Behcet’s disease (bd) is a systemic vasculitis characterized by recurrent oral aphthous and genital ulcers, uveitis, and skin lesions. although the exact pathogenesis is unknown, several genetic epidemiological studies have been demonstrated a significant genetic basis to bd development. the vitamin d receptor (vdr) gene polymorphisms have been reported to be connected to the development of bd. however, the results remained controversial among different populations. therefore, a meta-analysis of observational studies has been conducted to determine whether vdr gene variants confer susceptibility to bd.
Methods
A comprehensive search of medline, embase, cochrane, and scopus was conducted to identify eligible studies evaluating the association between the vdr polymorphisms (bsmi and taqi) and bd. pooled odds ratios (or) with 95% confidence intervals (ci) were calculated to assess the strength of association in different genetic models.
Results
Five eligible studies involving a total of 414 cases and 456 controls were finally enrolled in this meta-analysis. the combined results revealed no significant associations between taqi, and bsmi polymorphisms and the risk of bd in any of the genetic models (all p ˃ 0.05). moreover, subgroup analysis by ethnicity were also exhibited no significant relationship between any of the examined polymorphisms and bd risk for all genetic models (all p ˃ 0.05).
Conclusion
This meta-analysis suggests that taqi, and bsmi polymorphisms in vdr gene may not confer susceptibility to bd development. further well-designed studies with large sample sizes are needed to confirm our results.
Keywords
Behcet’s disease, vitamin d receptor, polymorphism, meta-analysis
