Homocysteine level and risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm: a meta-analysis.
OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the association between elevated plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). We investigated this association between Hcy levels in patients with AAA and unaffected controls by conducting a meta-analysis and systematic review.


METHODS
We conducted a systematic literature search (up to August 2013) of the PubMed database and Embase. We selected observational studies that evaluated Hcy levels in subjects with AAA compared to unaffected controls. Criteria for inclusion were the assessment of baseline Hcy and risk of AAA as an outcome. The results were presented as odd ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing AAA patients to the control subjects.


RESULTS
7 studies with 6,445 participants were identified and analyzed. Overall, elevated plasma Hcy was associated with an increased risk of AAA (3.29; 95% CI 1.66-6.51). The pooled adjusted OR from a random effect model of only men participants in the AAA compared with the control group was 2.36 (95% CI 0.63-8.82).


CONCLUSIONS
This meta-analysis and systematic review suggested that Hcy significantly increased the risk of AAA.
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Hui
H
Cao
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Xinhua
X
Hu
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Qiang
Q
Zhang
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Jun
J
Li
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Junpeng
J
Wang
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Yang
Y
Shao
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Bing
B
Liu
Department of Vascular and Thyriod Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Shijie
S
Xin
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017594:Publication Bias; D012307:Risk Factors
D006710:Homocysteine