21 We performed a meta-analysis of the two studies, which yielded highly significant evidence for association (odds ratio 0.77 95% confidence interval 0.69–0.87, P =1 × 10 −5 ) with no evidence for heterogeneity between the two cohorts ( P =0.81).
We found a weak trend toward association of a SNP in the IL7R gene with JIA ( Table 1 ), in line with the previous association of this SNP with RA, T1D 14 and multiple sclerosis 15 , 16 the common allele of the SNP was increased in cases compared with controls, although this did not achieve statistical significance.