Association between interleukin-6 levels and stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objectives We aimed to evaluate the association of interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression levels with stroke. Methods According to the set search strategy, we systematically screened relevant studies using PubMed and extracted study results regarding IL-6 from the literature for comprehensive quantitative analysis to explore the relationship between IL-6 level and stroke risk. Results This study included 15 publications with a total of 1696 participants, with 975 cases in the case group and 721 cases in the control group. Meta-analysis showed that IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the stroke population than those in the control group (standardized mean difference = 1.22, 95% confidence interval = 0.79–1.64). Subgroup analysis showed that there was no significant difference in heterogeneity for IL-6 detection methods between the two groups ( I2 = 0, P = 0.47). The difference in heterogeneity test results regarding geographic region was statistically significant ( I2 = 89.7%, P < 0.01). The results of heterogeneity testing for mean participant age were also statistically significant ( I2 = 84.3%, P = 0.01). Conclusion The present study results showed that IL-6 may be significantly associated with stroke development.