Diabetes mellitus and the risk of glioma: a meta-analysis

Some studies reported a statistically significant inverse association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and risk of gliomas. However, the result is still controversial. We thus did a meta-analysis and summarized the evidence on the incidence of gliomas that has been studied in its association with DM. Seven case-control studies and 4 cohort studies were selected in this meta-analysis (n = 5898251). DM was significantly associated with decreased risk of gliomas (OR = 0.79; 95% CI 0.67 – 0.93; P = 0.004; I(2) = 59%). In the subgroup analysis of race, Caucasians of DM showed decreased risk of gliomas (OR = 0.81; 95% CI 0.69 – 0.94; P = 0.007). In the subgroup analysis of design, a statistically significant protective effect of DM on gliomas was observed in case-control studies (OR = 0.68; 95 % CI, 0.53–0.87; P = 0.002), while no such effect was observed in cohort studies (OR = 0.97; 95 % CI, 0.83–1.13; P = 0.70). In a further stratified analysis by gender, a significant association was found among males with DM (OR = 0.83; 95 % CI, 0.70–0.99; P = 0.04). No significant association was found between females with DM and gliomas (OR = 0.97; 95 % CI, 0.78–1.21; P = 0.81). In summary, this meta-analysis of current evidence suggests that DM is significantly associated with decreased gliomas risk in Caucasian and males.