The aim of the present meta-analysis was to explore the association between FokI polymorphism of the VDR gene and lumbar spine disc degeneration.
The search was performed in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases up to January 2020. We selected nine studies that comprised a total of 1549 cases and 1672 controls. The association analysis included the allelic, dominant, recessive, homozygous and heterozygous genetic models. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate the association. The NOS scale was used to measure the quality of the studies included in the analyses; a cut-off of 6 stars was applied.
This meta-analysis indicated that FokI polymorphism is significantly associated with lumbar degenerative disc disorder and disc herniation in the homozygous (OR 1.77, CI95% 1.23-2.54, Z p value 0.002, Q p value 0.416) and recessive (OR 1.53; CI95% 1.23-1.90, Z p value <0.000, Q p value 0.224) models.
Our study indicates that the VDR gene FokI polymorphism may be correlated with the risk of developing a lumbar degenerative disc disorder and disc herniation. However, the small sample population studied and the lack of an evaluation of environmental factors must be taken as limitations in the present meta-analysis.

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