Association between the interleukin-1B polymorphism at rs16944 T>C and diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes and the leading cause of blindness at working age. DR is considered to be a chronic low-grade inflammatory subclinical disease, and its pathogenesis is related to genetic and environmental factors. Interleukin (IL)-1 is an important inflammatory cytokine. An association between DR and the rs16944 (IL-1B-511) T>C gene polymorphism has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the rs16944 T>C gene polymorphism and DR in the Han population in southwest China. Participants in this study were 272 patients with DR, 274 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and 335 healthy controls (NC). The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to detect the rs16944 T>C genotype of participants. The distribution frequencies of the rs16944 T>C genotype and allele were significantly different among the three groups (p < .05). The distribution frequency of TT, CT, CC genotype (χ² = 9.893, p = .007; χ² = 6.567, p = .037) and each allele (χ² = 5.585, p = .018; χ² = 9.187, p = .002) in the DR group was significantly different from the NC and T2DM groups, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that the TT + CT genotype was a risk factor for DR, with an odds ratio of 1.731 (95% confidence interval 1.140–2.627, p = .01). The rs16944 T>C gene polymorphism may be associated with DR, and the TT+CT genotype may increase the risk of DR.