Association between serum visfatin levels and psoriasis and their correlation with disease severity: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between serum visfatin levels and psoriasis and to evaluate the correlation between serum visfatin levels and the severity of psoriasis. METHODS: The electronic databases PubMed®, Embase® and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles published from inception to 1 May 2020. Data were extracted and then standard mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for pooled estimates. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included (448 patients diagnosed with psoriasis and 377 controls). This meta-analysis demonstrated that patients with psoriasis had significantly higher levels of visfatin than the controls (SMD = 0.90, 95% CI 0.52, 1.28). Subgroup analyses showed that differences in serum visfatin levels between the patient group and the control group were associated with ethnicity, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and body mass index. Additionally, a meta-analysis of correlations showed that visfatin levels in patients with psoriasis were positively correlated with PASI (r = 0.51, 95% CI 0.14, 0.75). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis showed that serum visfatin levels in patients with psoriasis were significantly higher than those in the controls and a positive correlation between serum visfatin levels and psoriasis severity was observed.