Associations between vitamin D receptor genetic variants and tuberculosis: a meta-analysis

We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate potential associations between vitamin D receptor (VDR) genetic variants and tuberculosis (TB). Systematic literature research was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to estimate strength of associations in all possible genetic models, and P values ≤ 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. In total, 42 studies were enrolled for analyses. Pooled overall analyses suggested that VDR rs1544410 (dominant model: P = 0.02; allele model: P = 0.03) and rs731236 (dominant model: P = 0.04; recessive model: P = 0.02; allele model: P = 0.01) variants were significantly associated with TB. Further subgroup analyses by ethnicity revealed that rs1544410 (dominant and allele models) and rs731236 (dominant, recessive, and allele models) variants were both significantly associated with TB in South Asians. When we stratified data by type of disease, positive results were detected for rs7975232 variant in EPTB (dominant, recessive, over-dominant, and allele models) subgroup, and for rs2228570 variant in PTB (dominant, recessive, and allele models) and EPTB (dominant, recessive, over-dominant, and allele models) subgroups. Our meta-analysis supported that rs7975232, rs1544410, rs2228570, and rs731236 variants might serve as genetic biomarkers of certain types of TB.