Association of Interleukin-18 (-137G/C) Polymorphism with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested that interleukin (IL)-18 gene (-137G/C) polymorphism is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, other studies did not confirm this correlation. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationships of IL-18 -137G/C and RA and SLE using a meta-analysis. METHODS: Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane library databases were systemically searched. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers and pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. RESULTS: In RA, the overall ORs and 95% CIs of -137C were 1.03, 0.88-1.22 (p=0.391); 1.22, 0.89-1.68 (p=0.020) and 1.06, 0.93-1.21 (p=0.110) in dominant, recessive, and additive models, respectively. Furthermore, in SLE, the overall ORs and 95% CIs of -137C were 1.10, 0.94-1.29 (p=0.980); 1.21, 0.91-1.60 (p=0.010) and 1.10, 0.97-1.24 (p=0.454) in dominant, recessive, and additive models, respectively. IL-18 -137G/C could increase the risk of RA and SLE. No publication bias was found in this meta-analysis. After population stratification analysis, under recessive model, the pooled ORs and 95% CIs of -137C were 1.14, 0.82-1.60 (p=0.008) and 1.01, 0.66-1.55 (p=0.004) in European RA patients and Asian SLE patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis showed that IL-18 -137G/C was a risk factor for RA and SLE, especially for RA in Europeans and SLE in Asians.