Antithetical effect of tumor necrosis factor-αgene polymorphism on coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP)

Background Inter‐individual variation in the severity of pneumoconiosis has been described, even with the same environmental exposure. We hypothesized that TNF‐α promoter polymorphisms associate with lung responses to environmental exposure in coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) patients. Methods We examined polymorphisms at −238, −308, and −376 in 124 patients with CWP who had similar dust exposure history and in 122 non‐exposed controls. CWP patients were divided into two groups: (1) nodular CWP (n = 84); (2) progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) (n = 44). Results The −308 A allele frequency was higher in patients with CWP compared to controls (6.35% and 2.05%, P