MTHFR 677C> T Polymorphism and Male Infertility Risk: A Meta-Analysis

Background and Objectives: MTHFR polymorphism may be a risk factor for male infertility. However, the resultsfrom studies presented conflicting results regarding MTHFR polymorphism and the risk of male infertility.Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of case-control studies to re-examine the controversy.Methods: The databases of PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Google Scholar, SID, IranMedex and Magiran until July2016 and reference section of relevant articles, were searched to identify both English and Persian case-control studieson male fertility issue that observed the association between MTHFR polymorphism and male infertility risk andtheirs quality was evaluated by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS)checklist. A total of 28 trials were finally included.Crude odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of association between theMTHFR polymorphism and male infertility risk.Results: MTHFR 677C> T polymorphism indicated significant associations with male infertility risk in both fixedeffects (CT+TT vs. CC: OR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.24–1.47) and random effects models (CT+TT vs. CC: OR = 1.38,95% CI: 1.20–1.54). Additional, when we analyzed by Asians Caucasians, Azoo or OAT subgroup, the similarresults were observed.Conclusions: Our results showed that the MTHFR polymorphism is related to an increased risk of male infertility.Additional well-designed analytical studies are needed to confirm our results and assess gene-environmentinteractions with male infertility risk.

کلیدواژه ها:

MTHFR ، Polymorphism ، Male infertility