Abstract
Prior research has indicated a potential link between the miR-146a rs2910164 genetic variant and an individual's susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Nevertheless, the evidence from various studies is contradictory and has not yielded a consensus. This meta-analysis was therefore conducted to systematically assess the relationship between this specific single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and the risk of developing tuberculosis. A systematic literature search was performed utilizing the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ISI to capture all relevant publications available through April 2024. To ensure comprehensive coverage, the reference lists of retrieved full-text articles were also manually scrutinized. For the quantitative synthesis, pooled odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed to determine the overall effect estimates. The chi-square (χ²) test and the I² statistic were applied to assess and quantify heterogeneity. This meta-analysis included 6363 individuals (2904 TB patients and 3459 healthy controls) from eight case-control studies. The pooled effect estimates across all genetic inheritance models (e.g., dominant model: OR = 0.971, 95% CI: 0.884-1.068) did not reveal a significant link between the rs2910164 polymorphism and susceptibility to tuberculosis. The analysis revealed considerable heterogeneity across most genetic models, as indicated by I² statistics exceeding 70%. Conversely, statistical tests found no evidence of publication bias. The collective evidence from this analysis does not support a significant association between the miR-146a rs2910164 G>C variant and tuberculosis susceptibility. Confirmation of this null association necessitates future validation in large-scale, rigorously designed studies.