Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphisms and the susceptibility to allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene I/D polymorphism might be linked to the risk of the allergic rhinitis (AR). OBJECTIVE In the present study, we assessed the association of ACE gene I/D polymorphisms with AR susceptibility using a meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS We carried out a retrieval of studies and included the eligible studies if they met the criteria. After the data extraction, the Stata software was used to analyse the genotype frequencies. RESULTS In total, five studies with 561 patients and 603 controls were included. However, the genotype distribution among the control of one study was not consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. After pooling all studies, the results indicated an association between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and AR risk in the overall analysis (II vs. others: OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.54-0.92, P=0.010; D vs. I: OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.08-1.54, P=0.005). In the further analysis of the East Asians, no association between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and AR risk was observed. CONCLUSION ACE gene I/D polymorphisms were not associated with the risk of AR in East Asians. These results need to be confirmed in the following studies.