The association between leptin and diabetes: A meta‐analysis

Purpose The study object was to determine the relationship between leptin and diabetes. Methods We searched for the literature on the relationship between leptin and diabetes from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and CNKI databases. We carried out the meta‐analysis by calculating the Std. Mean Difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to study the relationship between leptin and diabetes. We performed the Chi‐square‐based Q test and I2 statistics to evaluate the potential heterogeneity, and the sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the stability of our results. Moreover, Begg's test was performed to evaluate the publication bias. Results There are 10 studies in this study for meta‐analysis, which include 1879 patients (diabetic (n = 1024); and nondiabetic patients (n = 855)). The results indicated that the levels of serum leptin were significantly increased in patients with diabetes (SMD = 1.78, 95% CI [0.81, 2.76]), especially those with gestational diabetes mellitus compared with controls (SMD = 3.03, 95% CI [1.21, 4.86]). However, the results showed that there was no difference in serum leptin levels between type 2 diabetes and controls (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI [−1.06, 1.74]). Conclusions Our analysis indicated that the levels of serum leptin were significantly elevated in patients with diabetes especially those with gestational diabetes mellitus compared with controls.