COL12A1 rs970547 Polymorphism Does Not Alter Susceptibility to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: Currently available evidence regarding the association between collagen type XII α1 (COL12A1) polymorphism and risk of anterior cruciate ligament rupture (ACLR) remains elusive. The aim of our present study was to assess the association between COL12A1 rs970547 polymorphism and ACLR risk. Methods: Five online databases, namely, PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, CENTRAL, and CNKI, were searched from their inception data up to December 2020 to identify relative observational studies. The methodological quality of each individual study was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). The "model-free approach" was employed to estimate the magnitude of effect of COL12A1 rs970547 polymorphism on ACLR, and the association was expressed using odds ratio (OR) and its associated 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Subgroup analysis was performed by ethnicity and sex of included subjects. Results: Eight studies involving 1,477 subjects with ACLR and 100,439 healthy controls were finally included in our study. The methodological quality of included studies was deemed moderate to high based on NOS scores. The "model-free" approach suggested no genotype differences between ACLR and healthy control for the rs970547 polymorphism, but we still used the allele model to present the combined data. Under the random-effect model, there was no significant difference in the frequency of effecting allele between ACLR and control (OR: 0.91, 95% CI 0.77, 1.08; p = 0.28). Stratified analysis by sex and ethnicity also showed no difference in allele frequency. Conclusion: The findings of this current meta-analysis suggested that rs970547 was not associated with ACLR risk in male, female, and the overall population among Asians or Caucasians.