a Department of Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital , Xi'an Medical University , Xi'an , Shaanxi , China.
b Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital , Xi'an Medical University , Xi'an , Shaanxi , PR China.
Curr Eye Res. 2019 May;44(5):564-574. doi: 10.1080/02713683.2019.1570274. Epub 2019 Feb 4.
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is produced by a variety of cells involved in inflammation and acts as local intensification signals in pathological processes associated with chronic eye inflammation. This meta-analysis was performed to provide a better understanding of the relationship between IL-6 and diabetic retinopathy.
The study was started with systematic search for literatures by using the PubMed, Web of Science and Embase online databases. The standard mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were was included and then pooled with a random effects model.
Thirty-one articles, containing1099 DR patients and 1010 controls, were included in this meta-analysis. The level of IL-6 in the DR group was found to be higher than that in the control group (SMD: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.53-2.70, p < 0.00001).Obvious heterogeneity existed between the studies (p < 0.00001, I = 96%). So a subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed. Removing the sensitivity studies, the stability of the overall treatment effect was good. Subgroup analysis showed that the levels of IL-6 in case group were observed to be higher than those in the control group; and the IL-6 levels in the proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) group were also higher than those in the non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) group. (SMD: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.26-1.31, p= 0.003) Conclusion: The results from this current meta-analysis indicated that increased level of IL-6 generally exist in DR patients. And it may associated with the severity of DR. However, large-scale and high-quality studies in future are required to confirm the present findings.
白细胞介素 6（IL-6）由多种参与炎症的细胞产生，作为与慢性眼部炎症相关的病理过程中的局部强化信号。进行这项荟萃分析是为了更好地了解 IL-6 与糖尿病视网膜病变之间的关系。
本研究通过系统检索 PubMed、Web of Science 和 Embase 在线数据库，开始查找文献。采用随机效应模型纳入并汇总标准均数差（SMD）及其 95%置信区间（CI）。
这项荟萃分析纳入了 31 篇文章，包含 1099 例 DR 患者和 1010 例对照。DR 组的 IL-6 水平高于对照组（SMD：2.12，95%CI：1.53-2.70，p<0.00001）。研究之间存在明显的异质性（p<0.00001，I=96%）。因此进行了亚组分析和敏感性分析。剔除敏感性研究后，整体治疗效果的稳定性较好。亚组分析显示，病例组的 IL-6 水平高于对照组；增殖性糖尿病视网膜病变（PDR）组的 IL-6 水平也高于非增殖性糖尿病视网膜病变（NPDR）组。（SMD：0.78，95%CI：0.26-1.31，p=0.003）。结论：本荟萃分析的结果表明，DR 患者的 IL-6 水平普遍升高，可能与 DR 的严重程度有关。但未来需要开展大规模、高质量的研究来证实目前的发现。
