Association between the interferon-γ+874T/A polymorphism and susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection: a meta-analysis

Objective: This study investigated the correlation between the interferon (IFN)-gamma +874T/A polymorphism and hepatitis B virus (HBV) susceptibility using meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNKI, and China Wanfang databases were searched for case-control studies investigating the IFN-gamma +874T/A polymorphism and HBV susceptibility from the time of database establishment to April 2020. Stata 15.0 software was used, and the subgroups of ethnicity and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were analyzed. Results: Thirteen articles were included in this study. Significant differences were seen in the allelic model, dominant model, homozygous model, and heterozygous model, but heterogeneity was high. Analysis of the East Asian population revealed combined odds ratios of the allelic model (T vs. A), dominant model (TT + TA vs. AA), homozygous model (TT vs. AA), and heterozygous model (TA vs. AA) of 0.61, 0.56, 0.50, and 0.59, respectively. The difference was significant and the heterogeneity low. The recessive model showed no significance in the overall comparison, or in East Asian and Caucasian populations. Conclusions: The IFN-gamma +874T/A polymorphism is associated with the risk of HBV, especially in the East Asian population. Individuals with the T allele and TT and TA genotypes have a reduced risk of HBV infection.