[Meta analysis on the association between parental 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism and the neural tube defects of their offspring].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism of the parents and the susceptibility to their offspring having neural tube defects. To forecast and evaluate the onset risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) on the basis of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism on parents of the patients. METHODS: Electronic search strategy was carried out among the five databases from home and abroad to collect qualified research papers, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Case-control studies on association between MTHFR polymorphism and susceptibility to NTDs were collected and divided into two groups as mothers and fathers. The combined OR values and their 95%CI were calculated with Review Manager 5.0. RESULTS: 33 eligible studies were included. Statistics of the combined data showed a significant difference between the mothers with NTDs offspring carrying TT/CC, CT/CC of MTHFR gene C677T and controls. The pooled OR (95%CI) were 1.68 (1.32-2.14) and 1.20 (1.07-1.35) respectively. These was a significant difference between the fathers of the offspring with NTDs that carrying of TT/CC, CT/CC of MTHFR gene C677T and controls. The pooled ORs (95%CI) were 1.38 (1.08-1.76) and 1.32 (1.13-1.55) respectively. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that the paternal and maternal MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism were risk factors to NTDs.