Association of circulating omentin level and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Qin Zhang; Shuaihang Chen; Yani Ke; Qicong Li; Chenglu Shen; Yuting Ruan; Kaihan Wu; Jie Hu; Shan Liu

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1073498

Association of circulating omentin level and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Apr 17:14:1073498. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1073498. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Qin Zhang¹, Shuaihang Chen², Yani Ke², Qicong Li¹, Chenglu Shen¹, Yuting Ruan¹, Kaihan Wu¹, Jie Hu³, Shan Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ The First Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
² The Second Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
³ Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Clinical Evaluation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

Background: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is closely associated with omentin, a novel adipokine that plays a vital role in metabolic balance. The literature about the relationship between circulating omentin and MAFLD is conflicting. Therefore, this meta-analysis evaluated circulating omentin levels in patients with MAFLD compared with healthy controls to explore the role of omentin in MAFLD.

Methods: The literature search was performed up to April 8, 2022, using PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang, CBM, Clinical Trials Database and Grey Literature Database. This meta-analysis pooled the statistics in Stata and presented the overall results using the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: Twelve studies with 1624 individuals (927 cases and 697 controls) were included, and all of them were case-control studies. In addition, ten of twelve included studies were conducted on Asian participants. Patients with MAFLD had significantly lower circulating omentin levels than healthy controls (SMD=-0.950 [-1.724, -0.177], P=0.016). Subgroup analysis and meta-regression demonstrated that fasting blood glucose (FBG) might be the source of heterogeneity and was inversely associated with omentin levels (coefficient=-0.538, P=0.009). No significant publication bias existed (P>0.05), and outcomes were robust in the sensitivity analysis.

Conclusion: Lower circulating omentin levels were associated with MAFLD, and FBG might be the source of heterogeneity. Since Asian studies accounted for a significant portion of the meta-analysis, the conclusion might be more applicable to the Asian population. By investigating the relationship between omentin and MAFLD, this meta-analysis laid the foundation for the development of diagnostic biomarkers and treatment targets.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022316369.

Keywords: meta-analysis; metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD); non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; omentin; systematic review.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adipokines*
Case-Control Studies
Databases, Factual
Homeostasis
Humans
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease*

Substances

Adipokines

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, China (LQ19H290001), the research project of Zhejiang Chinese Medicine University (2021JKZKTS042B), Medical science and Technology Project of Zhejiang Province (2022KY921).