ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The p22phox C242T gene polymorphism (rs4673) may be linked to an increased susceptibility for overt diabetic nephropathy (ODN), but the study results are still inconclusive. METHODS: To explore the relationship between p22phox C242T gene polymorphism and ODN, the current meta-analysis of 707 ODN patients and 745 controls from five individual studies was conducted. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were evaluated by either a random or fixed effect model. RESULTS: In our meta-analysis, a significant relationship between the p22phox C242T gene polymorphism and ODN was found under allelic (OR, 2.760; 95% CI, 1.400 to 5.450; p = 0.004), recessive (OR, 5.080; 95% CI, 1.020 to 25.430; p = 0.05), dominant (OR, 1.700; 95% CI, 1.167 to 2.477; p = 0.006), homozygous (OR, 3.900; 95% CI, 1.022 to 14.889; p = 0.046), heterozygous (OR, 1.523; 95% CI, 1.167 to 1.986; p = 0.002), and additive genetic models (OR, 2.019; 95% CI, 1.232 to 3.309; p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: A positive correlation between p22phox C242T gene polymorphism and ODN risk was found. The T allele carriers of p22phox C242T gene polymorphism might be predisposed to ODN.