Introduction:: Apelin plays an important part in regulating blood pressure, metabolism, and the development of cancer. Recent studies have investigated the association of apelin polymorphisms and hypertension risk, but no meta-analysis has been conducted.
Materials and methods:: Five studies were included in this meta-analysis in total. The pooled odds ratio and its corresponding 95% confidence interval were calculated by the random-effect model.
Results:: The overall pooled odds ratio of the distribution of rs3761581 G allelic frequency was 0.90 (95% confidence interval: 0.82-1.00). In female participants, the pooled odds ratio of the frequency of G allele was 1.01 (95% confidence interval: 0.89-1.14). For males, the pooled odds ratio of the frequency of G allele was 0.69 (95% confidence interval: 0.46-1.03). As for rs56204867, the overall pooled odds ratio of the frequency of G allele was 1.09 (95% confidence interval: 0.86-1.37). In females, the pooled odds ratio of the frequencies of the G allele was 1.05 (95% confidence interval: 0.86-1.29). In male participants, the frequency of G allele did not show significant correlation with hypertension (pooled odds ratio=1.21 95% confidence interval: 0.81-1.79).
Conclusion:: This meta-analysis revealed that there was no correlation between apelin polymorphisms, rs3761581 and rs56204867, and the prevalence of hypertension.
Keywords: Apelin; essential hypertension; meta-analysis; rs3761581; rs56204867; single nucleotide polymorphism.