Diagnostic Value of Serum YKL-40 Level for Coronary Artery Disease: A Meta-Analysis

Objective This meta‐analysis aimed to identify the value of serum YKL‐40 level for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods Through searching the following electronic databases: the Cochrane Library Database (Issue 12, 2013), Web of Science (1945∼2013), PubMed (1966∼2013), CINAHL (1982∼2013), EMBASE (1980∼2013), and the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM; 1982∼2013), related articles were determined without any language restrictions. STATA statistical software (Version 12.0, Stata Corporation, College Station, TX) was chosen to deal with statistical data. Standard mean difference (SMD) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated. Results Eleven clinical case‐control studies that recruited 1,175 CAD patients and 1,261 healthy controls were selected for statistical analysis. The main findings of our meta‐analysis showed that serum YKL‐40 level in CAD patients was significantly higher than that in control subjects (SMD = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.73∼3.85, P < 0.001). Ethnicity‐stratified analysis indicated a higher serum YKL‐40 level in CAD patients than control subjects among China, Korea, and Denmark populations (China: SMD = 2.97, 95% CI = 1.21∼4.74, P = 0.001; Korea: SMD = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.17∼1.15, P = 0.008; Denmark: SMD = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.42∼2.29, P < 0.001; respectively), but not in Turkey (SMD = 4.52, 95% CI = –2.87∼11.91, P = 0.231). Conclusion The present meta‐analysis suggests that an elevated serum YKL‐40 level may be used as a promising diagnostic tool for early identification of CAD.