TABLE 3.
Summary of findings and quality of evidence of the CoQ10 supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers.
| Outcome measures | Summary of findings | Quality of evidence assessment (GRADE) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of patients (meta-analysis) | Effect size (95% CI) | Risk of bias a | Inconsistency b | Indirectness c | Imprecision d | Publication bias e | Quality of evidence f | |
| SMD analysis | ||||||||
| CRP | 622 (3) | −0.39 (−0.77, −0.01) | Not Serious | Not Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Not Serious | High |
| TNF-α | 885 (4) | −0.70 (−2.09, 0.68) | Not Serious | Not Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Not Serious | High |
| IL-6 | 1,076 (4) | −0.85 (−1.71, 0.01) | Not Serious | Not Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Not Serious | High |
| MDA | 4,550 (9) | −1.17 (−1.55, −0.79) | Not Serious | Serious | Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Low |
| TAC | 2,796 (6) | 1.21 (0.61, 1.81) | Not Serious | Serious | Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Low |
| SOD | 2,280 (7) | 1.08 (0.37, 1.79) | Not Serious | Serious | Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Low |
| WMD analysis | ||||||||
| CRP | 1,259 (3) | −0.28 (-0.47, −0.09) | Not Serious | Not Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Not Serious | High |
| TNF-α | 345 (2) | −0.46 (−0.65, −0.27) | Not Serious | Not Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Not Serious | High |
| IL-6 | 967 (3) | −0.92 (−1.40, −0.45) | Not Serious | Not Serious | Serious | Not Serious | Not Serious | High |
CRP, C-reactive protein; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; IL-6, interleukin-6; TAC, total antioxidant capacity; MDA, malondialdehyde; SOD, superoxide dismutase.
Risk of bias according to AMSTAR2 results.
Downgraded if there was a substantial unexplained heterogeneity (I 2 > 50%, p < 0.10) that was unexplained by meta-regression or subgroup analyses.
Downgraded if there were factors present relating to the participants, interventions, or outcomes that limited the generalizability of the results. Participants of the included studies were from different health conditions (subgroup analysis was not performed for each disease).
Downgraded if the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) crossed the minimally important difference (MID) for benefit or harm. MIDs, used for each outcome were: 3.16 mg/L for CRP, 7.9 pg/mL for TNF-α, and 2 pg/mL for IL-6, 0.59 mmol/mL for MDA, and 0.08 mmol/L for TAC.
Downgraded if there was an evidence of publication bias using funnel plot.
Since all the included studies were meta-analyses, the certainty of the evidence was graded as high for all outcomes by default and then downgraded based on prespecified criteria. Quality was graded as high, moderate, low, or very low.