title: Are women with polycystic ovarian syndrome at a high risk of non-alcoholic Fatty liver disease; a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Insulin resistance is a hallmark of metabolic syndrome (MS). It has been proposed that both polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are correlated with Insulin resistance. Therefore, PCOS and NAFLD can be attributed with insulin resistance and therefore MS. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine whether PCOS patients are at a high risk of NAFLD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Google scholar, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Embase, MEDLINE, and some Iranian databases such as scientific information database (SID), IranMedex, and MagIran were searched to identify relevant studies. We included all papers regardless of their language from January 1985 to June 2013. By using data on prevalence of NAFLD in patients with and without PCOS, odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated in each study. Chi-squared test was used to assess heterogeneity between studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We finally included seven eligible studies. According to chi-squared test, there was a significant heterogeneity (73.6%) between studies (P = 0.001). NAFLD prevalence was significantly higher in patients with PCOS compared to healthy control, with an overall OR of 3.93 (95% CI: 2.17, 7.11).There was no significant publication bias based on Begg's and Egger's tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to the results of this meta-analysis, there was a high risk of NAFLD in women with PCOS. We suggest evaluating patients with PCOS regarding NAFLD.
authors.affiliation: Students' Research Committee, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran ; Middle East Liver Diseases Center (MELD), Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramezani-Binabaj
authors.affiliation: Nephrology and Urology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motalebi
authors.affiliation: Students' Research Committee, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karimi-Sari
authors.affiliation: Students' Research Committee, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran ; Middle East Liver Diseases Center (MELD), Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Saeid
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rezaee-Zavareh
authors.affiliation: Middle East Liver Diseases Center (MELD), Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Moayed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Alavian
keywords: Insulin Resistance; Meta-Analysis; Metabolic Syndrome; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome