Association between angiotensinogen T174M polymorphism and ischemic stroke: A meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Neurology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The association between the angiotensinogen (AGT) T174M polymorphism and ischemic stroke (IS) risk has been investigated, but findings remain controversial.
• Previous studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the role of this specific genetic variation in IS susceptibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a meta-analysis to clarify the relationship between the AGT T174M polymorphism and the risk of ischemic stroke.
• To provide a more robust assessment of the genetic association by pooling data from multiple studies.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was performed across PubMed, Embase, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases up to October 2014.
• Statistical analysis involved calculating odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using STATA 12.0 software.
• Meta-analysis included six studies comprising 1290 cases and 1125 controls, with stratified analyses by ethnicity.

Main Results:

• Overall analysis across all included studies showed no significant association between the AGT T174M polymorphism and ischemic stroke risk in any genetic model.
• Stratified analysis by ethnicity revealed a potential association between the AGT T174M polymorphism and increased IS risk specifically in the Asian population.
• In Asians, the MM genotype (OR = 3.28, 95% CI = 1.79-6.02) and the recessive model (OR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.17-0.57) indicated a possible link to IS risk.

Conclusions:

• The AGT T174M polymorphism may serve as a potential predictive marker for ischemic stroke risk in Asian individuals.
• Further large-scale, well-designed studies are warranted to validate these findings and confirm the role of the AGT T174M polymorphism in IS susceptibility among Asians.