Association Between Genetic Polymorphisms in the ADAM33 Gene and Asthma Risk: A Meta-Analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between the rs3918396 G>A and rs528557 C>G polymorphisms in the disinterring and metalloproteinase domain 33 (ADAM33) gene and asthma risk. We searched CISCOM, CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, and CBM databases from inception through August 1st, 2013 without language restrictions. Meta-analysis was performed using the STATA 12.0 software. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Thirteen case-control studies were included with a total of 7104 asthma patients and 8172 healthy controls. Our meta-analysis results revealed that ADAM33 rs528557 C>G polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of asthma (all p<0.05). However, we found no correlation between the ADAM33 rs3918396 G>A polymorphism and asthma risk (all p>0.05). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity indicated that the ADAM33 rs528557 C>G polymorphism might be strongly associated with an increased risk of asthma among both Caucasian and Asian populations (All p<0.05). No significant association was found between the ADAM33 rs3918396 G>A polymorphism and the risk of asthma among the studied ethnicities (All p>0.05). The present meta-analysis suggests that the ADAM33 rs528557 C>G polymorphism may contribute to susceptibility to asthma. Thus, the ADAM33 rs528557 C>G polymorphism may be utilized as a biomarker for early diagnosis of asthma.