Table 2.
Summary of meta-analysis results after removing studies outside the boundaries in Galbraith plot.
| Tests of association | Tests of heterogeneity | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cytokines | Studies (n) | Case (n) | Control (n) | Model | Hedges' g [95% CI] | Z | P-value | Q-value | P-value | I2 (%) | Studies outside the boundaries in Galbraith plot |
| IL-6 | 18 | 617 | 544 | FE | 0.409 [0.292–0.525] | 6.866 | 0.000 | 21.467 | 0.206 | 20.808 | (28, 44, 62, 73, 79, 81) |
| IFNγ | 12 | 531 | 371 | FE | 0.054 [−0.080–0.189] | 0.790 | 0.429 | 8.400 | 0.253 | 19.458 | (24, 45, 52) |
| IL-8 | 11 | 531 | 407 | FE | 0.301 [0.170–0.432] | 4.507 | 0.000 | 15.288 | 0.122 | 34.590 | (60, 75, 82) |
| TNF-α | 14 | 513 | 418 | FE | 0.135 [0.005–0.265] | 2.032 | 0.042 | 18.403 | 0.143 | 29.360 | (39, 61, 63, 72, 73, 76, 79, 82) |
| IL-1β | 13 | 388 | 362 | FE | 0.360 [0.216–0.504] | 4.905 | 0.000 | 16.042 | 0.190 | 25.113 | (28, 50, 67, 80, 82) |
| IL-10 | 12 | 512 | 437 | FE | −0.036 [−0.164–0.092] | −0.548 | 0.584 | 9.110 | 0.612 | 0.000 | (41, 65, 67) |
| IL-17 | 7 | 276 | 185 | FE | −0.208 [−0.398 to −0.017] | −2.130 | 0.033 | 10.317 | 0.122 | 41.845 | (40, 42, 67, 71, 82) |
| IL-4 | 8 | 223 | 201 | FE | 0.213 [0.023–0.402] | 2.200 | 0.028 | 9.596 | 0.213 | 27.052 | (37, 80) |
FE, fixed-effects model.