Background: Interleukin 4 (IL-4) -590C/T polymorphism has been reported to influence atopic dermatitis (AD) susceptibility, but the results are controversial.
Objective: This meta-analysis was performed to study the association between IL-4 -590C/T polymorphism and AD susceptibility.
Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were performed to estimate the strength of the association.
Results: Ten studies comprising 923 cases and 1215 controls were included. The overall population revealed significant associations between IL-4 -590C/T polymorphism and AD susceptibility under the allele (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.03-1.38; I = 0.0%), recessive (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.002-1.61; I = 0.0%), and dominant (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.003-1.76; I = 0.0%) models; similar results were found under the allele (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01-1.39; I = 0.0%) and recessive (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.001-1.62; I = 0.0%) models after excluding not-in-Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium studies. However, subgroup analyses by ethnicity showed no significant association in Asians or whites. Subgroup analyses by age indicated a significant association in children under the allele (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.06-1.60; I = 0.0%) and dominant (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.02-1.97; I = 0.0%) models, children in articles with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium under the allele model (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.05-1.69; I = 0.0%), and Asian children under the allele model (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.02-1.95; I = 0.0%) but not in white children.
Conclusions: The IL-4 -590C/T polymorphism may contribute to AD susceptibility in the overall population and children, especially for Asian children, but large well-designed studies are warranted to confirm this conclusion.