Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence to show that TNF-alpha -308G>A polymorphism may be a risk factor for celiac disease, but the results are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: Thus, we aimed to perform a meta-analysis involving published studies up to January 2019 to elucidate the association. METHODS: To assess the effect of TNF-alpha -308G>A polymorphism on celiac disease susceptibility, we searched PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases to identify eligible studies, without restriction. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95 confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the susceptibility to celiac disease. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies with 1147 cases and 1774 controls were selected for this meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated that TNF-alpha -308G>A polymorphism was associated with increased risk of celiac disease (A vs G: OR=2.077, 95 CI=1.468-2.939, P=</=0.001; AA vs GG: OR=8.512, 95 CI=3.740-19.373, P=</=0.001; AA+AG vs GG: OR=1.869, 95 CI=1.161-3.008, P=0.010; and AA+AG vs GG: OR=4.773, 95 CI=3.181-7.162, P</=0.001). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity also revealed significant association in Caucasians. In addition, there was a significant association between TNF-alpha -308G>A polymorphism and celiac disease risk in Italy, Spain and PCR-FRLP group studies. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis suggests that the TNF-alpha -308G>A polymorphism plays an important role in celiac disease susceptibility. However, our results are still needed to strengthen by further studies in different ethnicities and larger sample sizes.