%0 Journal Article
%T Elevated circulating ghrelin in patients with COPD: A meta
%A Junli Wang
%A Lei Chen
%A Mei Feng
%A Ting Yang
%A Xue Zhang
%A Yan Hou
%A Yongchun Shen
%J Chronic Respiratory Disease
%@ 1479-9731
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/1479972318757468
%X Ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor, has been implicated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Recently, several studies reported inconsistent levels of ghrelin in plasma/serum of COPD patients. This meta-analysis aims to determine the circulating level of ghrelin in COPD. Published case¨Ccontrol or cohort studies were retrieved from Pubmed and Embase databases. Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated in a random-effects model. Nine studies involving 515 subjects were included. Pooled effect size showed that circulating ghrelin levels were significantly enhanced in COPD patients compared with those in controls (SMD: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.04 to 1.62, p = 0.039). Noticeably, five studies stratified for body mass index in COPD group and we further found ghrelin levels were significantly higher in underweight COPD patients than those in normal weight cases (SMD: 1.52, 95% CI: 0.43 to 2.61, p = 0.006). However, no significant difference regarding ghrelin levels was indicated between normal weight COPD and controls (SMD: 0.64, 95% CI: £¿0.36 to 1.63, p = 0.210). In this meta-analysis, circulating level of ghrelin is significantly elevated in patients with COPD, especially in those underweight, indicating supplement with exogenous ghrelin could be a therapeutic choice for underweight COPD patients
%K Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
%K ghrelin
%K meta-analysis
%K malnutrition
%K COPD
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1479972318757468