2.5. Statistical analysis
The statistical analysis was done using STATA 16.0 (Stata Corp LP,
College Station, TX, USA). TNFSF13B gene polymorphisms and pSS
susceptibility were shown to have associations using odds ratios (OR)
and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
The STATA16.0 method was used to compute the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
(HWE). There was an HWE divergence if p<0.05. The fixed effects model
and the random effects model, respectively, were used to obtain the
pooled ORs. When heterogeneity is significant, the random effects model
should be chosen. Using I2 statistics, the
heterogeneity between studies was identified. The fixed-effects model
was appropriate for I2 statistics when
I2<50%. If not, the random-effects model would be
appropriate. By looking at funnel plots, publication bias was evaluated.
All statistical tests used in this study were two-sided, and a study was
deemed statistically significant when p<0.05.