Background: Managing nephropathy associated with diabetes mellitus warrant investigation of relevant biomarkers in predicting this condition. Adiponectin (ADP) may hold promise as a biomarker for diabetic nephropathy (DN). In this study, we examine associations of ADP with DN by meta-analyzing relevant literature. We also examined the predictive potential of ADP and estimate progression of DN.
Methods: Multi-database literature searches and serial omissions of articles yielded 13 studies for inclusion in the meta-analysis. We compared ADP levels between controls/ normoalbuminuria and cases with micro- and macroalbuminuria (MI and MA, respectively) as well as MI versus MA using standardized mean differences (SMD). Associations of ADP with DN were indicated with the P-value considered significant at ≤ 0.05. Subgrouping was based on diabetes type (1 and 2). Predictive potential of ADP was explored with AUC (area under the curve) derived from Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis.
Results and conclusion: At high P-values of <10-5, overall and subgroup outcomes indicated ADP associations with DN (up to SMD = 1.89-2.26, respectively). However, heterogeneity of the initial SMD effects (up to I2 = 99%) warranted examination of their sources which with the Galbraith plot method, either eliminated or reduced their heterogeneity, signifying combinability of the studies. This feature along with consistency of significant associations, robust outcomes and significant AUC values provide good evidence of the associative and predictive roles of ADP in DN.