Meta-analysis of the association between SNPs in TCF7L2 and type 2 diabetes in East Asian population

Abstract Aims To evaluate the effect of TCF7L2 on genetic susceptibility of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in East Asian population by using the meta-analysis. Methods Search all the publications about the association between TCF7L2 and T2DM in East Asian population from PubMed, CNKI and abstracts of major diabetes conferences. Perform the meta-analysis of all the validated studies and evaluate the association between rs7903146 T allele, rs12255372 T allele, rs11196205 C allele, rs290487 C allele and rs11196218 G allele of TCF7L2 and the risk of T2DM. Results Eleven studies from nine eligible papers and one unpublished study of ours were included in the meta-analysis. Ten eligible studies were analyzed for rs7903146, five were analyzed for rs12255372 and rs11196205, and three were analyzed for rs290487 and rs11196218. We found that four SNPs (rs7903146, rs12255372, rs11196205, rs290487) in TCF7L2 were significantly associated with T2DM in East Asian populations. The rs11196218 also showed a marginal association. The estimated population-attributable risk (PAR) associated with analyzed SNPs ranged from 2% to 7%. Conclusions SNPs in TCF7L2 were strongly associated with the risk of T2DM in East Asian population. But the contribution of its genetic variants to the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in East Asian was relatively low.