Serum and follicular fluid chemerin and chemerin mRNA expression in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

Introduction Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders among women of reproductive age. Chemerin, a novel adipokine, is involved in inflammation, energy metabolism, adipogenesis, angiogenesis and insulin secretion in the adipose cells and ovary. This systematic review with meta‐analysis aimed to compare serum and follicular fluid (FF) chemerin and ovarian chemerin mRNA expression among women with PCOS and non‐PCOS. Methods Electronic databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Cochrane and CINAHL were used for a comprehensive search through April 2021. Of the 174 articles initially identified, 22 studies met the eligibility criteria. A random‐effects model with a weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was performed to compare the outcomes between groups. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to detect the sources of heterogeneity. Results Women with PCOS compared to without PCOS showed significantly higher serum chemerin [WMD: 12.02 pg/ml (95% CI: [10.92, 13.13]), p
This systematic review with meta‐analysis was shown serum, and follicular fluid chemerin levels and chemerin mRNA expression were higher in the PCOS group compared to the controls. Further, serum chemerin was higher in women with PCOS and a more BMI. The present findings illustrated that chemerin may be associated with both PCOS status and BMI, independently.