Association between the expression of vascular endothelial growth factors and metabolic syndrome or its components: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Several studies have linked vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) with metabolic syndrome or its components. However, there has been no systematic appraisal of the findings of these studies to date. The current systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to explore this association. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, and clinical trials registries were used to retrieve peer-reviewed clinical studies that had evaluated the association of VEGFs with metabolic syndrome or its components without applying language and date restrictions. The final search was performed on 29 September 2017. RESULTS: We included 32 studies in this systematic review and meta-analysis, of which 16 studies (19 study arms) were included in the meta-analysis and remaining studies were qualitatively assessed. Overall, VEGF-A, VEGF-B and VEGF-C were strongly associated with metabolic syndrome or its components. The components of metabolic syndrome varied in their association. Obesity was not correlated with increased VEGF-A expression (p = 0.12), whereas VEGF-B and VEGF-C expression was significantly higher in those with obesity. In contrast, hyperglycemia in type 1 diabetes was strongly associated with increased VEGF-A levels (p < 0.00001), as was type 2 diabetes (p = 0.0006). The studies included in the qualitative analysis similarly showed an increase in VEGF family expression in people with metabolic syndrome, and with its components. CONCLUSION: The increased concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factors are variably associated with metabolic syndrome or its components. Each VEGF protein has a unique set of associations with the disease state.