Plasma levels of nesfatin-1 as a new biomarker in depression in Asians: evidence from meta-analysis

Objective: This study aims to review the alteration of plasma nesfatin-1 levels in patients with depression. Methods: Under the guidance of the latest PRISMA checklist, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted by searching English database (PubMed, Web of Science, EMDASE) and Chinese database for relevant studies up to August, 2019. Pooled standardised mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated with the random effects model. Results: Nine studies that reported the association between plasma levels of nesfatin-1 and the risk of depression with 567 patients and 447 control participants were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with the healthy controls, depressive patients had a higher plasma level of nesfatin-1 [SMD (95% CI):1.58(0.75, 2.41), Z = 3.74, p for Z < 0.001; I² = 96.8%, p for I² < 0.001]. The subgroup analyses and meta-regression failed to find the source of the heterogeneity. No evidence of publication bias was found either in Begg’s test (p = 0.348) or the Egger’s test (p = 0.523). Conclusion: The present meta-analysis indicated that a higher plasma level of nesfatin-1 was associated with an increased risk of depression.