Adiponectin levels in graves' disease - systematic review and meta-analysis

Context. Graves' disease is the most prevalent cause of hyperthyroidism worldwide. Adiponectin, the most abundant adipokine, plays a significant role in a cluster of prevalent diseases connected to metabolic disorders. Objective. Although the association between adiponectin and Graves' disease has been studied, the existing data is inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between adiponectin levels and Graves' disease. Methods. We performed a systematic electronic search on PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and Cochrane Library using predefined keywords. We used the NHLBI quality assessment tools to assess the included studies. Results. There were 11 studies involving 781 subjects included in our qualitative synthesis, while 6 studies were included in our quantitative synthesis. We observed significantly increased adiponectin levels in Graves' disease patients compared to controls (MD 2.983 [95% CI 0.138- 5.828]) and hypothyroidism patients (MD 3.389 [95% CI 1.332-5.446]). Nevertheless, no significant MD was observed when comparing Graves' disease patients with and without Graves' ophthalmopathy (MD-27.124 [95% CI-88.893 - 34.645]). Conclusions. Adiponectin levels were significantly higher in patients with Graves' disease compared to controls and hypothyroidism patients. However, patients with and without Graves' ophthalmopathy did not present a significant mean difference in adiponectin levels.