Association between fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 A/T polymorphism and polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Up to now, numerous case-control studies have reported the associations between fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 A/T polymorphism and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), however, without a consistent result. Hence we performed current systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the controversial results. Methods Case-control studies reporting the relationship of rs9939609 A/T polymorphism and PCOS published before April 2015 were searched in Pubmed database without language restriction. Data was analyzed by Review Manager 5.2. Results A total of five studies involving 5010 PCOS patients and 5300 controls were included for further meta-analysis. The results of meta-analysis showed that the FTO gene rs9939609 A/T polymorphism was significantly different between PCOS group and control group in different gene models (For AA + AT vs. TT: OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.28–1.55, P P P P P P  = 0.008) Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that rs9939609 A/T polymorphism of FTO gene is associated with PCOS risk, and that A allele is a risk factor for PCOS susceptibility simultaneously.