Angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism and susceptibility to pediatric asthma: A meta-analysis

Objective: The correlation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism with pediatric asthma risk was assessed in this meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and CNKI databases were systematically searched for relevant literature, followed by application of odds ratios (OR) along with 95% confidence interval (CI) for determining the strength of relationship. Results: Seven articles with 802 cases and 632 controls fulfilled the inclusion criteria. As a result, the ACE I/D polymorphism was related to elevated pediatric asthma risk (D vs I: OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.59-2.20; dominant model: OR =1.53, 95% CI = 1.28-1.81; recessive model: OR =1.54, 95% CI = 1.28-1.85; DD vs II: OR =2.95, 95% CI = 2.19-3.98; DI vs II: OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.78-1.19). Subgroup analysis stratified by race revealed significant interrelation in Asians. Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrated that the ACE I/D polymorphism might be related to the risk of pediatric asthma.