Background and aim: Previous studies have documented that the association between growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) the risk of patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In this meta-analysis, our main objective is to explore the associations between GDF-15 and the risk of CVD or all-cause mortality.
Methods: PubMed and ISI Web of Science (up to January 2018) electronic databases were browsed for eligible studies. The studies provided relevant data depicted as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI), with regard to the association between GDF-15 levels and subsequent risk of CVDs or all-cause mortality. A random-effect model was applied to pool the HR and 95% CI.
Results: Thirty-one prospective studies met the eligibility criteria involving 53 706 subjects with 7020 adverse outcome events. It was concluded that GDF-15 levels were associated with an incremental risk of CVDs or all-cause mortality. Highest GDF-15 category was associated with greater risk of cardiovascular mortality (HR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.69-3.63), all-cause mortality (HR, 2.52; 95% CI, 2.06-2.97), and complex adverse outcome (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.42-2.21). As each log-unit increment in GDF-15 concentration, the corresponding risk of adverse events also escalated, cardiovascular mortality (HR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.57-2.66), all-cause mortality (HR, 2.70; 95% CI, 2.29-3.12), and complex adverse outcome (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.64-2.29).
Conclusions: Judging from the results of the data analysis, GDF-15 levels may increase the risk of CVDs or all-cause mortality.
Keywords: all-cause mortality; cardiovascular diseases; growth differentiation factor-15; meta-analysis.
© 2019 The Authors. Clinical Cardiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.