The association between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 polymorphisms and essential hypertension risk: A meta-analysis involving 14,122 patients

BACKGROUND: Some studies have evaluated the associations between the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene polymorphisms and essential hypertension (EH) risk. However, the results remain uncertain. We carried out a meta-analysis to derive a more comprehensive estimation of these associations. METHODS: Case-control studies were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wangfang databases. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the associations. RESULTS: Significant associations were found between the ACE2 G8790A polymorphism and EH risk in males (OR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11-1.44; p = 0.0004; I(2) = 34%) and females (OR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.09-1.34; p = 0.0003; I(2) = 31%), respectively. Significant associations were also observed between the ACE2 rs2106809 polymorphism and EH risk in males (OR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.10-1.39; p = 0.0004; I(2) = 18%) and females (OR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.27-1.51; p < 0.00001; I(2) = 0%), respectively. However, there was no significant association between the ACE2 A1075G polymorphism and EH risk in males (OR = 1.27; 95% CI, 0.77-2.10; p = 0.35; I(2) = 69%) and females (OR = 1.02; 95% CI, 0.83-1.26; p = 0.84; I(2) = 33%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the ACE2 G8790A and rs2106809 polymorphisms may be associated with EH risk.