title: Erythropoietin levels in patients with sleep apnea: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Currently available data regarding the blood levels of erythropoietin (EPO) in sleep apnea (SA) patients are contradictory. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the EPO levels in SA patients via quantitative analysis. A systematic search of Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science were performed. EPO levels in SA group and control group were extracted from each eligible study. Weight mean difference (WMD) or Standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated by using fixed-effects or random effect model analysis according to the degree of heterogeneity between studies. A total of 9 studies involving 407 participants were enrolled. The results indicated that EPO levels in SA group were significantly higher than that in control group (SMD 0.61, 95% CI 0.11-1.11, p = 0.016). Significantly higher EPO levels were found in patients with body mass index <30 kg/m2, and cardiovascular complications in the subsequent subgroup analysis (both p < 0.05). High blood EPO levels were found in SA patients in the present meta-analysis.
authors.affiliation: The Second Clinical College of Fujian Medical University, No. 134, Zhongshan Bei Road, Licheng District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, 362001, P. R. China.|Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Bin
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Second Clinical College of Fujian Medical University, No. 134, Zhongshan Bei Road, Licheng District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, 362001, P. R. China. zeng_yi_ming@126.com.|Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, P. R. China. zeng_yi_ming@126.com.
authors.forename: Yi-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hui-Qing
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hua-Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hui-Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000097:blood*; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D004921:Erythropoietin
keywords: Erythropietin; Meta-analysis; Sleep apnea