Effects of ANRIL variants on the risk of ischemic stroke: a meta-analysis

: Several studies investigated the relationship between antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) variants and the risk of ischemic stroke (IS), yet whether ANRIL variants are associated with IS remain controversial. Therefore, we performed the present study to obtain a more conclusive result. Literature retrieval was conducted in PubMed, Medline and Embase. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Eighteen studies were enrolled for analyses. Pooled overall analyses showed that rs2383206 (recessive model: P=0.002, OR = 1.22, 95%CI 1.08-1.38; allele model: P=0.003, OR = 0.90, 95%CI 0.84-0.96) and rs10757274 (allele model: P=0.006, OR = 0.91, 95%CI 0.86-0.97) variants were significantly associated with an increased risk of IS. Further subgroup analyses by ethnicity revealed that rs2383206, rs10757274 and rs10757278 variants were all significantly correlated with an increased risk of IS in Asians. Additionally, rs10757278 polymorphism was also significantly correlated with an increased risk of IS in Caucasians. Our findings indicated that rs2383206, rs10757274 and rs10757278 variants may impact individual susceptibility to IS in Asians. Moreover, rs10757278 polymorphism may also impact individual susceptibility to IS in Caucasians.