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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Thyroid Endocrinology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1505085
Relationship between Ghrelin and Thyroid disease: A Meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted- 1 The Fourth People's Hospital of Shenyang, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
- 2 The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- 3 Taiping Street Health Center of Xiangcheng District of Suzhou City, Suzhou, Liaoning Province, China
Background: Previous studies have identified a close relationship between ghrelin levels and thyroid disease. Ghrelin levels were lower in patients with hyperthyroidism compared with healthy individuals, and increased after treatment. However, other studies have reported inconsistent results. As such, the association between ghrelin and thyroid disease remains controversial.Methods: A literature search of the Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, Embase, and PubMed databases was performed. The title or abstract search term "thyroid" was used in combination with "ghrelin". Meta-analysis results are reported as standardized mean difference with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: Twenty-three studies were included in this meta-analysis. Ghrelin levels in patients with hyperthyroidism were significantly lower than those in healthy individuals (SMD: -1.03, 95% CI [-1.75, 0.32]), but significantly higher after effective treatment (SMD: 0.77, 95% CI [0.03, 1.51]). Ghrelin levels were higher, but not significantly, in patients with hypothyroidism compared with healthy controls (SMD: 0.48, 95% CI [-0.13, 1.08]).This systematic review is the first to evaluate the relationship between ghrelin and thyroid disease. Determining the role of ghrelin in thyroid disease will significantly contribute to understand of symptom or pathomechanism.
Keywords: Ghrelin, Thyroid disease, Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism, Meta - analysis
Received: 02 Oct 2024; Accepted: 13 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xin, Yao, Li, Sun and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xin Sun, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
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