Abstract
BACKGROUND: The relationships between polymorphisms in interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene and the risk of viral hepatitis remain inconclusive. Therefore, the authors conducted so far the very first meta-analysis to robustly assess the relationships between polymorphisms in IL-10 gene and the risk of viral hepatitis by integrating the results of previous works. METHODS: Medline, Embase, Wanfang, VIP and CNKI were searched throughly for eligible studies, and 76 genetic association studies were finally included in this meta-analysis. RESULTS: We noticed that rs1800871 (- 819 C/T), rs1800872 (- 592 C/A) and rs1800896 (- 1082 G/A) polymorphisms were all significantly associated with the risk of viral hepatitis in Asians, whereas only rs1800896 (- 1082 G/A) polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of viral hepatitis in Caucasians. In further analyses by disease subtypes, we noticed that the three investigated polymorphisms were all significantly associated with the risk of both HBV and HCV. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis demonstrates that rs1800871 (- 819 C/T), rs1800872 (- 592 C/A) and rs1800896 (- 1082 G/A) polymorphisms may influence the risk of viral hepatitis in Asians, while only rs1800896 (- 1082 G/A) polymorphism may influence the risk of viral hepatitis in Caucasians. In further analyses by disease subtypes, we noticed that the three investigated polymorphisms may influence the risk of both HBV and HCV.