Interleukin-10 gene rs1800896 polymorphism increases risk of acute pancreatitis

BACKGROUND The association between interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene rs1800896 polymorphism and susceptibility to acute pancreatitis (AP) has been investigated in several studies, but with contradictory findings. Therefore, a comprehensive meta-analysis is needed to assess the strength of such association. METHODS Literatures on PubMed, EMBASE, and CNKI were searched to identify relevant studies. The strength of association between IL-10 gene rs1800896 polymorphism and AP risk was assessed using pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS Totally 7 case-control studies involving 1527 cases and 1511 controls were identified. Analyses proved that IL-10 gene rs1800896 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of AP. Stratification analysis of ethnicity found such significant association only among Asians, but not Caucasians. CONCLUSION IL-10 gene rs1800896 polymorphism increases the risk of AP.