Association between serum resistin concentration and hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objectives: Recent studies have suggested the involvement of adipokines in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. In this study, we evaluated the significance of serum resistin levels in hypertensive patients using a meta-analysis approach.

Materials and methods: Relevant articles were retrieved by searching the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Ovid Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge. The retrieved studies were subjected to a thorough screening procedure to identify case-control studies that contained the required data. Data were extracted from each study and analyzed by Stata software and Review Manager software. In total, 14 case-control studies, containing 718 hypertensive patients and 645 normotensive controls, were included in this study. The major result of the meta-analysis revealed a statistically significant association between serum resistin concentration and hypertension (SMD = 0.85, 95% CI: [0.15, 1.54]), and the association was more obvious in Asian and Hispanic populations, diabetic population and studies with larger size cohorts. Publication bias was a low probability event for overall comparisons.

Conclusions: Based on our results, we conclude that serum resistin level in hypertensive patients is higher than normotensive controls, indicating resistin might be a risk factor for hypertension.

Keywords: hypertension; meta-analysis; resistin.

Figure 1. Flow chart of literature search and study selection

Figure 2. Forest plot of the differences in serum resistin levels between hypertensive patients and healthy controls

Abbreviations: 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.

Figure 3. Subgroup analyses for the differences of serum resistin levels between hypertensive patients and healthy controls in different ethnicities

Abbreviations: 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.

Figure 4. Subgroup analyses for the differences of serum resistin levels between hypertensive patients and healthy controls in studies of different sizes

Studies with total sample size over 100 were considered as large size studies, and studies with a sample size less than 100 were considered as small size studies. Abbreviations: 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.

Figure 5. Sensitivity analysis plot of the differences in serum resistin levels between hypertensive patients and healthy controls

Meta-analysis random-effects estimates were used. The two ends of he dotted lines represented the 95% CI.

Figure 6. Publication biases on the differences of serum resistin levels between hypertensive and normotensive individuals

The P values for Egger's test and Begg's test are shown in the figure. Abbreviations: 95% CI, 95% confidence interval; SE, standard error.