Influence of the β-fibrinogen-455G/A polymorphism on development of ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease

Abstract Background Ischemic stroke (IS) and coronary heart disease (CHD) are two vascular disorders that are a common cause of death worldwide. Several studies have assessed the association of the β-fibrinogen-455G/A (FGB-455G/A) polymorphism and risk of IS and CHD, but the results are still inconsistent. Our study aimed to investigate whether the FGB-455G/A polymorphism was associated with susceptibility to IS and CHD by using meta-analysis. Methods Relevant studies were identified from PubMed, Embase and four Chinese database up to July 2013.Data were analyzed and processed by Stata 11.2. A pooled OR with 95% CI was calculated to estimate the strength of the genetic association. Cumulative meta-analysis was performed to assess the tendency of pooled OR over time. Results 45 studies based on a total of 7238 cases and 7395 controls were included in our meta-analysis. The results indicated that the FGB-455G/A polymorphism is associated with the risk of IS when compared with the dominant model (OR = 1.518, 95%CI = 1.279-1.802 for AA + GA vs. GG). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significantly elevated risks were associated with the A allele in Asians (OR = 1.700, 95%CI = 1.417-2.040), but not in Caucasians (OR = 0.942, 95%CI = 0.813-1.091). Both the hypertension and non-hypertension subgroups reached significant results, but no significance was found when stratified according to sex or subtype of IS. Results indicate that the FGB-455G/A polymorphism is associated with CHD (OR = 1.802, 95%CI = 1.445-2.246). Conclusion Our meta-analysis suggests that the FGB-455G/A polymorphism contributes to susceptibility to IS and CHD.