Low serum hepcidin levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: evidence from meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Iron metabolism plays a significant role in the development of metabolic disorders in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Despite the importance of hepcidin, a key iron regulator, current research on serum hepcidin levels in PCOS patients shows conflicting results.Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database were systematically searched from their inception to 9 September 2023. The search aimed to identify studies in English and Chinese that examined hepcidin levels in women with PCOS compared to healthy control subjects. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to evaluate the difference in serum hepcidin levels between women with and without PCOS.Results The meta-analysis included a total of 10 eligible studies, which encompassed 499 PCOS patients and 391 control subjects. The pooled analysis revealed a significant reduction in serum hepcidin levels among the PCOS patients compared to the healthy controls (SMD = −3.49, 95% CI: −4.68 to −2.30, p .05).Conclusion The serum hepcidin levels of women with PCOS were significantly lower than those of healthy controls, which suggests that serum hepcidin could be a potential biomarker for PCOS.

Keywords

• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• hepcidin
• iron metabolism
• meta-analysis