Three Genetic Polymorphisms of Homocysteine-Metabolizing Enzymes and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: Appraisal of a Recent Meta-Analysis

摘要

We read with great interest the recent article entitled ‘‘Three Genetic Polymorphisms of HomocysteineMetabolizing Enzymes and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Meta-Analysis Based on 23 Case-Control Studies’’ by Chen et al. (2011). To date, several studies have focused on the role of homocysteine-metabolizing enzymes polymorphisms in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, however, the results of those studies remain inconclusive and ambiguous. Chen et al. (2011) conducted a meta-analysis to examine the associations between three genetic polymorphisms of genes encoding homocysteine-metabolizing enzymes (methionine synthase [MTR] A2756G, methionine synthase reductase [MTRR] A66G, and N 5 , N 10 - methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase [MTHFR] A1298C) and susceptibility to CHD. The results of this meta-analysis suggest that MTR A2756G polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of CHD for Europeans, whereas, for MTRR A66G and MTHFR A1298C, no obvious associations were found. It is an interesting study. Nonetheless, several issues related to the article seem worthy of comment.