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Effects of Chromium Supplementation on Lipid Profile: an Umbrella of Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Abstract

Dyslipidemia is one of the most well-established modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. Several meta-analyses have revealed the improving effects of chromium on dyslipidemia, while some studies have reported controversial results. This study aimed to summarize meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the effects of chromium supplementation on lipid profiles in adults. The literature search was conducted using Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Library, and PubMed databases with appropriate keywords from the beginning to May 2022. Based on the pooled analysis results, a random-effects model was used to determine the effects of chromium on blood lipid levels. Heterogeneity, publication bias, and sensitivity analysis were also evaluated using standard methods. A total of eight meta-analyses were included in this study. The pooled analysis of eight meta-analyses did not find any significant effect of chromium supplementation on triglycerides (TG) (ES =  − 0.20 mg/dl; 95% CI: − 0.50, 0.10, p = 0.185), total cholesterol (TC) (ES =  − 0.14 mg/dl, 95% CI: − 0.43, 0.16; p = 0.369), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) (ES =  − 0.08 mg/dl; 95% CI: − 0.19, 0.03; p = 0.142), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (ES: 0.05 mg/dl, 95% CI: − 0.05, 0.14, p = 0.312). However, subgroup analysis by the intervention dose suggested that chromium supplementation in doses higher than 500 µg/day could significantly decrease TG. The available evidence proposes no beneficial effects of chromium intervention on blood lipids. As a result, it cannot be used as a single therapy to treat adults with lipid abnormalities.

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Data Availability

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The present study has been performed with a grant from the Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (grant number: 1401197).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Mahdi Vajdi

  2. Nutrition Research Center, Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Vali Musazadeh & Arash Karimi

  3. Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Hajar Heidari & Gholamreza Askari

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Mohammad Javad Tarrahi

  5. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Gholamreza Askari

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Contributions

MV and AK designed the research; AK and GA conducted the research; MV and VA performed statistical analysis; HH, AK, MJT, and MV wrote the paper; GA had primary responsibility for the final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mohammad Javad Tarrahi or Gholamreza Askari.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical Approval

The study protocol was approved and registered by the ethics committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (identifier: IR.MUI.RESEARCH.REC.1401.215). The protocol of the current study has been registered in the PROSPERO system (registration number: CRD42022309657).

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Mahdi Vajdi and vali Musazadeh have contributed equally to this work and share the first authorship.

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Vajdi, M., Musazadeh, V., Karimi, A. et al. Effects of Chromium Supplementation on Lipid Profile: an Umbrella of Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Biol Trace Elem Res 201, 3658–3669 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-022-03474-2

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