Association of the Aldose Reductase-106TT Genotype with Increased Risk for Diabetic Retinopathy in the Chinese Han Population: An Updated Meta-Analysis

Purpose: A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effects of the aldose reductase (ALR) C-106T polymorphism on the risk for development of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the Chinese population.Materials and methods: Relevant studies were identified using PubMed, Springer Link, Ovid, Chinese Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM) through 21 March 2015. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the associations.Results: This meta-analysis identified 11 studies, including 1386 DR cases, 1594 diabetes mellitus (DM) control cases, and 472 healthy control cases. In the overall analysis, a non-significant association between the ALR C(-106)T polymorphism and DR was found in the Chinese population. In subgroups stratified by ethnicity, significantly increased risks for DR in association with ALR C(-106)T variants were found in the Chinese Han population. When compared with healthy controls, we found the following associations: T versus C (OR, 1.63; 95%CI, 1.23-2.17), TT versus CC (OR, 2.04; 95%CI, 1.03-4.02), and TT + CT versus CC (OR, 1.82; 95%CI, 1.28-2.57).Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed that ALR C-106T variants appear to influence the risk for DR in Chinese Han persons. Studies with larger sample sizes and wider population spectra are warranted to verify this finding.