Transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) polymorphism plays an essential role in the occurrence and development of patients living with diabetes, but the current conclusions are inconsistent on the relationship between TCF7L2 polymorphism and the risk of diabetic nephropathy. This meta-analysis aims to explore the exact association between TCF7L2 rs7903146 locus polymorphism and susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and China Wanfang databases were searched for studies on the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism at TCF7L2 rs7903146 locus and susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy until January 10, 2022. The data were analyzed by Stata 15.0 software. A total of 7 articles were included, covering 1443 patients with diabetic nephropathy and 2129 diabetic non-nephropathy patients. The results showed that allele C at TCF7L2 rs7903146 locus, compared to allele T, the pooled odds ratio (OR)=0.69 (95% CI: 0.56-0.85, p≤0.05). In the dominant gene inheritance model, recessive gene inheritance model, homozygous genetic model, and heterozygous genetic model, the pooled OR was 0.47 (95% CI: 0.36-0.61), 0.63 (95% CI: 0.54-0.73), 0.39 (95% CI: 0.29-0.51), and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.45-0.78), respectively, and the differences were statistically significant. In conclusion, TCF7L2 rs7903146 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy. Allele T and genotype TT can increase the risk of diabetic nephropathy.
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