Figure 3.

Forest plots for comparisons of Δhepcidin. All three enrolled studies reported data of Δhepcidin. Meta-analysis yielded a significant heterogeneity (SMD =−3.31, 95% CI: −5.82 to −0.81, I²=98%, P=0.009, A). Sensitivity analysis was conducted by excluding each study one by one to find out the origin of heterogeneity. After excluding Besarab et al.’s (B) and Chen et al.’s (C) studies, I²was still higher than 50%. Finally, heterogeneity disappeared after excluding Akizawa et al.’s study, and hepcidin decreased after the treatment of roxadustat (SMD =−4.46, 95% CI: −5.02 to −3.89, I²=0%, P<0.00001, D). SMD, standard mean difference.