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BackgroundEpidemiological studies have evaluated the association between apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene polymorphism and coronary artery disease (CAD) risk which developed inconsistent conclusions. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship in Chinese population, we performed this meta-analysis.MethodsDatabases, including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CBMdisc and CNKI, were searched to get the genetic association studies. Additionally, hand searching of the references of identified articles were performed. All the statistical tests were performed using Review Manager 5.1.2 and Stata 11.0.ResultsWe identified a total of 40 studies, including 4,564 CAD cases and 3,985 controls. The results showed evidence for significant association between ApoE ε4 allele and CAD risk (for ε2/ε4 vs. ε3/ε3: OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.42–2.43, p<0.00001; for ε3/ε4 vs. ε3/ε3: OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 2.07–2.65, p<0.00001; for ε4/ε4 vs. ε3/ε3: OR = 2.89, 95% CI = 1.87–4.47, p<0.00001; for ε4 allele vs. ε3 allele: OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.91–2.35, p<0.00001).ConclusionsThe present meta-analysis suggests an association between ApoE ε4 allele and increased risk of CAD in Chinese population. However, due to the small sample size in most of the included studies and the selection bias existed in some studies, the results should be interpreted with caution.

Several epidemiological studies have assessed the associations of interleukin (IL) gene polymorphisms with acute pancreatitis (AP) in different populations. However, the results were inconclusive. Therefore, we performed the present study to comprehensively evaluate the associations of IL gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to AP. Systematic searches of the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI, CBMdisc and Google Scholar until February 27, 2013, as well as hand searching of the references of identified articles were performed. Data were extracted using standardized forms and odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of associations. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata 11.0. Ten studies were included in our final combined analysis, covering a total of 1,220 AP cases and 1,351 controls. The results showed evidence for significant association between IL-8 -251 T/A (rs4073) polymorphism and AP risk, suggesting that IL-8 -251 A allele was associated with an increased risk of AP (for A allele vs. T allele: OR = 1.36, 95 % CI 1.05-1.76, p = 0.02; for A/A vs. T/T: OR = 2.28, 95 % CI 1.08-4.81, p = 0.03; for A/A+T/A vs. T/T: OR = 1.40, 95 % CI 1.11-1.77, p = 0.005). However, there were no significant associations between IL-1β (IL-1β +3954 C/T (rs1143634) and IL-1β -511 C/T (rs16944)), IL-6 (IL-6 -174 G/C (rs1800795) and IL-6 -634 C/G (rs1800796)) and IL-10 (IL-10 -1082 A/G (rs1800896), IL-10 -819 C/T (rs1800871) and IL-10 -592 C/A (rs1800872)) gene polymorphisms and AP risk. In summary, the current study suggests that the IL-8 -251 T/A polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of AP. In addition, there were no significant associations between IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 gene polymorphisms and AP risk.