The roles of MTRR and MTHFR gene polymorphisms in congenital heart diseases: a meta-analysis

Background: We performed the present study to better elucidate the correlations of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) gene polymorphisms with the risk of congenital heart diseases (CHD). Methods: Eligible articles were searched in PubMed, Medline, Embase and CNKI. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to detect any potential associations of MTHFR and MTRR gene polymorphisms with CHD. Results: A total of 47 eligible studies were finally included in our meta-analysis. Our overall analyses suggested that MTRR rs1801394, MTRR rs1532268, MTHFR rs1801131 and MTHFR rs1801133 polymorphisms were all significantly associated with the risk of CHD in certain genetic models. Further subgroup analyses according to ethnicity of study participants demonstrated that the MTRR rs1801394 polymorphism was significantly correlated with the risk of CHD only in Asians, whereas MTRR rs1532268, MTHFR rs1801133 and MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphisms were significantly correlated with the risk of CHD in both Asians and Caucasians. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that MTRR rs1532268, MTHFR rs1801131 and MTHFR rs1801133 polymorphisms may affect the risk of CHD in Asians and Caucasians, while the MTRR rs1801394 polymorphism may only affect in risk of CHD in Asians.