Meta-Analysis of the Association between Vitiligo and Human Leukocyte Antigen-A

Biomed Res Int. 2016:2016:5412806. doi: 10.1155/2016/5412806. Epub 2016 Sep 5.

Abstract

Objective. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the association between vitiligo and human leukocyte antigen- (HLA-) A. Methods. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and reference lists were searched for relevant original articles. Results. Nineteen case-control studies comprising 3042 patients and 5614 controls were included, in which 33 HLA-A alleles were reported. Overall, three alleles (HLA-A02, A33, and Aw31) were significantly associated with increased risk of vitiligo, two (HLA-A09 and Aw19) were associated with decreased risk, and the remaining 28 were unassociated. Twelve alleles, seven alleles, and 19 alleles were common to three ethnicities, both types of vitiligo, and both typing methods, respectively. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity and typing methods, the association of six alleles and five alleles was inconsistent in three populations and both typing methods, respectively. In the subgroup analysis by clinical type, the association of all seven alleles was consistent in both types of vitiligo. Conclusion. The meta-analysis suggests that HLA-A02, A33, and Aw31 are associated with increased risk of vitiligo, while HLA-A09 and Aw19 are associated with decreased risk of vitiligo. The association of some alleles varies in terms of ethnicity and typing methods.

Publication types

  • Review