Review
Lower circulating IGF-1 levels in fibromyalgia: meta-analysis highlighting potential pathogenic role
Y.H. Lee1, G.G. Song2
- Department of Rheumatology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. lyhcgh@korea.ac.kr
- Department of Rheumatology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
CER18207
Review
PMID: 40153319 [PubMed]
Received: 04/10/2024
Accepted : 25/11/2024
In Press: 18/03/2025
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To evaluate the relationship between circulating insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels and fibromyalgia.
METHODS:
Meta-analyses were performed to compare serum/plasma IGF-1 levels in patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls and in patients with fibromyalgia according to subgroups based on region, sample size, data type, publication year, and matched variables (age, sex, and/or BMI).
RESULTS:
Twelve studies from eleven reports including 512 patients with fibromyalgia and 308 controls were selected. IGF-1 levels were not found to be decreased in the fibromyalgia group (standardised mean differences (SMD)=-0.347, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.747−0.053, p=0.089. However, sensitivity analysis showed that results of one study significantly affected the pooled SMD (SMD=-0.458, 95% CI: -0.822 – -0.093, p=0.014), indicating that the results of this meta-analysis were unstable. Additionally, the SMD changed to be significant after adjusting for publication bias (SMD=-0.513, 95% CI: -0.924 – -0.102). Stratification according to data type showed a significantly lower IGF-1 level in the fibromyalgia group with original data (SMD=-0.458, 95% CI: -0.857 - -0.060, p=0.024). Stratification by publication year revealed a significantly lower IGF-1 level in the fibromyalgia group by recent year (year >2012) (SMD=-0.679, 95% CI: -1.066 - -0.293, p=0.001).
CONCLUSIONS:
Our meta-analysis demonstrated that IGF-1 levels were significantly lower in patients with fibromyalgia, suggesting that IGF-1 might play an important role in the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia.
