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The Relationship Between Serum Copper and Overweight/Obesity: a Meta-analysis

Biological Trace Element Research volume 194, pages 336–347 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

The relationship between serum copper (Cu) level and overweight/obesity remains controversial. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the relationship. A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases for relevant articles until March 20, 2019. The random-effect model (REM) was adopted to compute the combined standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Publication bias was estimated using the visualization of funnel plots and Egger’s test. In the end, twenty-one articles were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with controls, serum Cu level was higher in obese children (SMD (95% CI) 0.74 (0.16, 1.32)) and in obese adults (SMD (95% CI) 0.39 (0.02, 0.76)). There was no significant difference in serum Cu between overweight and control groups in children (SMD (95% CI) 1.52 (− 0.07, 3.12)) and in adults (SMD (95% CI) 0.16 (− 0.06, 0.38)). Moreover, subgroup analysis revealed a higher serum Cu level in obese children (SMD (95% CI) 0.90 (0.36, 1.45)) and obese adults (SMD (95% CI) 0.47 (0.05, 0.88)) compared with healthy weight controls. The SMD differs significantly between obese children diagnosed by weight-for-height and controls (SMD (95% CI) 1.56 (0.57, 2.55)), and there was a significant difference of serum Cu level between obese adults diagnosed by BMI (WHO) and controls (SMD (95% CI) 0.54 (0.08, 1.01)). This meta-analysis indicates that a higher serum Cu level might be associated with the risk of obesity in children and adults, and these findings need to be further confirmed.

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Funding

This work was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (grant number ZR2015HM029) and Qingdao Science and Technology Bureau (grant number 186179nsh).

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  1. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, The Medical College of Qingdao University, No. 38 Dengzhou Road, Qingdao, 266021, China

    Kunfang Gu, Wenzhi Xiang & Xiubo Jiang

  2. Qingdao Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao Institute of Prevention Medicine, No. 175 Shandong Road, Qingdao, 266021, China

    Xuekui Li

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ESM 3

Influence analysis of an individual study on the pooled estimate for studies on the association between Cu level and obesity risk in children (PNG 76 kb)

High Resolution Image (TIF 132 kb)

ESM 4

Influence analysis of an individual study on the pooled estimate for studies on the association between Cu level and obesity risk in adults (PNG 39 kb)

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ESM 5

Funnel plot for the analysis of Cu level and obese children (PNG 84 kb)

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Funnel plot for the analysis of Cu level and obese adults (PNG 86 kb)

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Gu, K., Li, X., Xiang, W. et al. The Relationship Between Serum Copper and Overweight/Obesity: a Meta-analysis. Biol Trace Elem Res 194, 336–347 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01803-6

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Keywords

  • Copper
  • Cu
  • Overweight
  • Obesity
  • Meta-analysis