Relationship between MTHFR gene polymorphism(C667T)and neural tube defects：a meta-analysis

ObjectiveTo explore the association between methyl tetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR)gene C677T polymorphism and incidence of neural tube defects through meta-analysis.MethodsWe searched PubMed,CNKI,and other literature database.All the case-control studies about MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism and susceptibility of neural tube defects were collected.Data were extracted from studies and analyzed by meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis.ResultsA total of 27 papers were selected based on the criteria,including 2 245 patients and 3 678 controls.Meta-analysis results showed that the combined odds ratio(OR)values of neural tube defects for offspring with maternal TT and CT genotypes were 3.12 and 2.06 in domestic population and were 1.61 and 1.10 in foreign populations.respectively.ConclusionThe results suggested that MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism is significantly associated with susceptibility of neural tube defects.But the mechanism of the association remains to be ascertained by large-scale cohort studies.