Genetic associations between Transcription Factor 7 Like 2 rs7903146 polymorphism and type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of 115,809 subjects

Abstract Background Some genetic association studies tried to investigate potential associations of Transcription Factor 7 Like 2 (TCF7L2) rs7903146 polymorphism with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the results of these studies were not consistent. Thus, we performed the present meta-analysis to explore associations between TCF7L2 rs7903146 polymorphism and T2DM in a larger pooled population. Methods Systematic literature research of PubMed, Web of Science and Embase was performed to identify eligible studies for pooled analyses. I2 statistics were employed to assess between-study heterogeneities. If I2 was greater than 50%, random-effect models (REMs) would be used to pool the data. Otherwise, fixed-effect models (FEMs) would be applied for synthetic analyses. Results Totally 68 studies with 115,809 subjects were included for analyses. The pooled analyses showed that TCF7L2 rs7903146 (dominant model: p < 0.0001; recessive model: p < 0.0001; over-dominant model: p < 0.0001; allele model: p < 0.0001) polymorphism was significantly associated with susceptibility to T2DM in overall population. Further subgroup analyses revealed similar significant findings in both Asians and Caucasians. Conclusions In conclusion, our findings supported that TCF7L2 rs7903146 polymorphism could be used to identify individuals at high risk of developing T2DM in Asians and Caucasians.