Many studies have analyzed the association between peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PADI4) -104C/T polymorphism and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the results are inconsistent. This meta-analysis, based on different populations, updated and reevaluated the possible associations between PADI4 -104C/T polymorphism and the susceptibility to RA.
A literature search was performed on PubMed and related Chinese databases up to April 2017. The association between PADI4 -104C/T polymorphism and RA risk was evaluated by calculating pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
A total of seventeen studies, including 5,756 RA cases and 4,987 controls, were screened out. In the overall population, PADI -104C/T polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased RA risk. In this meta-analysis stratified by ethnicity, a significant association between PADI -104C/T polymorphism and RA risk was established in China and Japan.
Our study indicated a significantly increased association between PADI -104C/T polymorphism and RA in Chinese and Japanese populations. Because most included populations in this meta-analysis were Asian, further studies are needed to elucidate whether the PADI4 -104C/T gene confers RA in other ethnic groups.