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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Mar 6;12(1):32.
doi: 10.1186/s13643-023-02205-5.

Prevalence of pineal gland calcification: systematic review and meta-analysis

Daniel Gashaneh Belay  1   2 , Misganaw Gebrie Worku  3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of pineal gland calcification: systematic review and meta-analysis

Daniel Gashaneh Belay et al. Syst Rev. .

Abstract

Background: Pineal gland calcification is the formation of corpora arenacea predominantly composed of calcium and phosphorus. It plays an important role in regulating the light/dark circadian changes to synchronize their daily physiological activities like feeding, metabolism, reproduction, and sleep through the secretion of melatonin. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the pooled prevalence of pineal gland calcification.

Methods: A systematic review was done using published research articles from different electronic databases. Cross-sectional studies were included for systematic review and only studies conducted on the human population were included for quantitative analysis. Published articles were selected by assessing the title and abstract for relevance to the review objectives. Finally, the full text was retrieved for further assessment.

Results: The pooled prevalence of pineal gland calcification was 61.65% [95% CI: 52.81, 70.49], with a heterogeneity of I2 = 97.7%, P ≤ 0.001. According to the qualitative analysis, an increase in age, male sex, and white ethnicity are the major socio-demographic characteristics that increase the prevalence of pineal gland calcification.

Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of pineal gland calcification was higher compared with reports from previous studies. Different studies reported pineal gland calcification was most prevalent in the adult population compared with the pediatric age groups. According to the qualitative analysis, an increase in age, male sex, and white ethnicity are the major socio-demographic characteristics that increase the prevalence of pineal gland calcification.

Keywords: Calcification; Melatonin; Pineal gland; Risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of studies included for the systematic review and meta-analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The prevalence of pineal gland calcification among different studies
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The funnel plot for the assessment of publication bias among different studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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