Updated Trans-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of Associations between Inflammation-Related Genes and Intracranial Aneurysm

We performed an expanded multi-ethnic meta-analysis to identify associations between inflammation-related loci with intracranial aneurysm (IA) susceptibility. This meta-analysis possesses increased statistical power as it is based on the most data ever evaluated.

We searched and reviewed relevant literature through electronic search engines up to August 2022. Overall estimates were calculated under the fixed- or random-effect models using pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analyses were performed according to ethnicity.

Our meta-analysis enrolled 15 studies and involved 3070 patients and 5528 controls including European, Asian, Hispanic, and mixed ethnic populations. Of 17 inflammation-related variants, the rs1800796 locus (interleukin [IL]-6) showed the most significant genome-wide association with IA in East-Asian populations, including 1276 IA patients and 1322 controls (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.56-0.75; p=3.24×10-9) under a fixed-effect model. However, this association was not observed in the European population (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.80-1.47; p=0.5929). Three other variants, rs16944 (IL-1β), rs2195940 (IL-12B), and rs1800629 (tumor necrosis factor-α) showed a statistically nominal association with IA in both the overall, as well as East-Asian populations (0.01

Our updated meta-analysis with increased statistical power highlights that rs1800796 which maps on the IL-6 gene is associated with IA, and in particular confers a protective effect against occurrence of IA in the East-Asian population.