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Effect of Chromium Supplementation on Blood Glucose and Lipid Levels in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Abstract

In recent years, the prevalence and incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) have increased sharply worldwide. In order to evaluate the effect of chromium supplementation on patients with type 2 diabetes, a meta-analysis was conducted by searching the relevant literature. Randomized controlled trials on the effects of chromium supplements on glucose metabolism or lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes were retrieved from multiple databases. Literature screening, quality evaluation, and data extraction were conducted according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and Review Manager 5.4.0 was used for data analysis. A total of 10 randomized controlled trials involving 509 patients were included, including 269 cases in the experimental group and 240 cases in the placebo control group. Statistical analysis was conducted on the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) to evaluate the blood glucose and lipid levels. Meta-analysis results showed that the differences between the experimental group and the control group in only one indicator of HbA1c were statistically significant, while there were no statistically significant differences in other indicators. The use of chromium supplements can reduce the glycosylated hemoglobin of type 2 diabetic patients to a certain extent, but it cannot effectively improve the fasting blood glucose and blood lipid levels of type 2 diabetic patients.

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The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Funding

The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81673162 and No. 81872618) for funding this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, and Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, 87 Dingjiaqiao Road, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu, China

    Fengyi Zhao, Da Pan, Niannian Wang, Hui Xia, Hong Zhang, Shaokang Wang & Guiju Sun

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  1. Fengyi Zhao
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  4. Hui Xia
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Contributions

Fengyi Zhao, Da Pan, and Niannian Wang developed the idea of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft the manuscript. Hui Xia and Hong Zhang contributed to the acquisition and interpretation of data. Shaokang Wang and Guiju Sun provided critical review and substantially revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shaokang Wang.

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Zhao, F., Pan, D., Wang, N. et al. Effect of Chromium Supplementation on Blood Glucose and Lipid Levels in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 516–525 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02693-3

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