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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Aug 5:13:949003.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.949003. eCollection 2022.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of endocrine-related adverse events associated with interferon

Linghuan Wang  1   2 , Binqi Li  1   2 , He Zhao  1 , Peixin Wu  1 , Qingzhen Wu  1 , Kang Chen  2 , Yiming Mu  1   2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

A systematic review and meta-analysis of endocrine-related adverse events associated with interferon

Linghuan Wang et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Objectives: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of interferon and endocrine side effects, including their incidence, evaluation, and management.

Methods: PubMed was searched through March 7th, 2021, by 2 authors independently (LH Wang and H Zhao). Early phase I/II, phase III experimental trials, prospective and retrospective observational studies were included. Stata 16.0 (StataCorp LLC, 16.0) was the main statistical software for meta-analysis. The weighted incidence and risk ratio were estimated for primary thyroid disease and diabetes mellitus.

Results: A total of 108 studies involving 46265 patients were included. Hypothyroidism was the most common thyroid disorder, followed by hyperthyroidism. IFN α+RBV treated patients experienced hypothyroidism in 7.8% (95%CI, 5.9-9.9), which was higher than IFN α (5.2%; 95%CI, 3.7-6.8) and IFN β (7.0%; 95%CI, 0.06-23.92). IFN α+RBV treated patients experienced hyperthyroidism in 5.0% (95%CI, 3.6-6.5), which was higher than IFN α (3.5%; 95%CI, 2.5-4.8) and IFN β (3.4%; 95%CI, 0.9-7.5). The summary estimated incidence of painless thyroiditis was 5.8% (95%CI, 2.8-9.8) for IFN α, and 3.5% (95%CI,1.9-5.5) for IFN α+RBV. The summary estimated incidence of diabetes was 1.4% (95%CI, 0.3-3.1) for IFN, 0.55% (95%CI, 0.05-1.57) for IFN α, 3.3% (95%CI,1.1-6.6) for IFN α+RBV.

Conclusions: Our meta-analysis shows a high incidence of endocrine adverse events provoked by IFN, further reinforced by combined RBV treatment.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022334131.

Keywords: endocrine adverse events; hyperthyroidism; hypothyroidism; interferon; thyroiditis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study selection.
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