And the forest plot revealed that HbA1c (OR: 1.104, 95% CI: 1.027, 1.187), DBP (OR: 1.032, 95%CI: 1.017,1.047), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) (OR: 1.182, 95% CI: 1.022, 1.367), fT4 (OR: 3.736, 95%CI: 1.691,8.256), duration of diabetes (OR: 1.004, 95% CI: 1.002, 1.007), and insulin use (OR: 2.021, 95% CI: 1.380, 2.959) were risk factors for DPN (all P <0.05). The gene discussed is INS; the disease is diabetes mellitus.