C-reactive protein gene polymorphisms and myocardial infarction risk: a meta-analysis and meta-regression.

AIMS: C-reactive protein (CRP), the classic acute-phase protein, plays an important role in the etiology of myocardial infarction (MI). Emerging evidence has shown that the common polymorphisms in the CRP gene may influence an individual's susceptibility to MI; but individually published studies showed inconclusive results. This meta-analysis aimed to derive a more precise estimation of the associations between CRP gene polymorphisms and MI risk.
METHODS: A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and China BioMedicine (CBM) databases was conducted on articles published before June 1st, 2013. Crude odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.
RESULTS: Nine case-control studies were included with a total of 2992 MI patients and 4711 healthy controls. The meta-analysis results indicated that CRP rs3093059 (T>C) polymorphism was associated with decreased risk of MI, especially among Asian populations. However, similar associations were not observed in CRP rs1800947 (G>C) and rs2794521 (G>A) polymorphisms (all p>0.05) among both Asian and Caucasian populations. Univariate and multivariate meta-regression analyses showed that ethnicity may be a major source of heterogeneity. No publication bias was detected in this meta-analysis.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the current meta-analysis indicates that CRP rs3093059 (T>C) polymorphism may be associated with decreased risk of MI, especially among Asian populations.