Effects of FSHR polymorphisms on premature ovarian insufficiency in human beings: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Whether follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) polymorphisms are implicated in premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) remains controversial. Thus, we performed this study to explore correlation between FSHR polymorphisms and POI in human beings. METHODS: Literature retrieve was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Embase and CNKI. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were enrolled for analyses. No significant relationship with POI was found for rs6165 and rs6166 polymorphisms in overall analyses. Further subgroup analyses revealed that rs6166 polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of POI in Asians with both FEM and REM. Nevertheless, we failed to detect any significant associations with POI for other ethnicities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that FSHR rs6166 polymorphism may serve as a potential genetic biomarker of POI in Asians, but not in other ethnicities.