Abstract
Objectives
We aimed to summarise findings on blood cytokine levels in patients with paediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) compared to healthy controls.
Methods
This systematic review followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and was registered at Prospero (CRD42024579684). A literature search was performed on 1 August 2024 in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus. We included studies that reported levels of cytokines in plasma or serum. Pooled effect sizes of mean values were calculated using Hedges' g for any cytokine reported by two or more studies.
Results
The search revealed 5529 papers. Twenty-three articles reporting on 58 cytokines were included, totalling 1018 patients with PIBD and 634 healthy controls. Meta-analysis was feasible for three cytokines: interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α. IL-6 levels were elevated in PIBD (n = 482, standardised mean difference [SMD]: 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00–2.43), although with high heterogeneity (I2: 96.69%). The effect size for patients with Crohn's disease (n = 336) was SMD 1.93 (95% CI: 0.85–3.00, I2: 97.81%), and for patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 85) the SMD was 1.58 (95% CI: 0.34–2.83, I2: 93.98%). In contrast, levels of IL-1β (SMD: 1.07, 95% CI: −1.01 to 3.14, I2: 93.8%) and TNF-α (SMD: 0.22; 95% CI: −0.17 to 0.60; I2: 77.0%) did not differ significantly between patients and controls. Additionally, the associations with the remaining 55 cytokines not eligible for meta-analysis were reviewed.
Conclusions
IL-6 was increased in the peripheral blood of patients with PIBD. Further proteomic studies, including correlation analyses of clinical data, are encouraged.
We aimed to summarise findings on blood cytokine levels in patients with paediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) compared to healthy controls.
Methods
This systematic review followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and was registered at Prospero (CRD42024579684). A literature search was performed on 1 August 2024 in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus. We included studies that reported levels of cytokines in plasma or serum. Pooled effect sizes of mean values were calculated using Hedges' g for any cytokine reported by two or more studies.
Results
The search revealed 5529 papers. Twenty-three articles reporting on 58 cytokines were included, totalling 1018 patients with PIBD and 634 healthy controls. Meta-analysis was feasible for three cytokines: interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α. IL-6 levels were elevated in PIBD (n = 482, standardised mean difference [SMD]: 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00–2.43), although with high heterogeneity (I2: 96.69%). The effect size for patients with Crohn's disease (n = 336) was SMD 1.93 (95% CI: 0.85–3.00, I2: 97.81%), and for patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 85) the SMD was 1.58 (95% CI: 0.34–2.83, I2: 93.98%). In contrast, levels of IL-1β (SMD: 1.07, 95% CI: −1.01 to 3.14, I2: 93.8%) and TNF-α (SMD: 0.22; 95% CI: −0.17 to 0.60; I2: 77.0%) did not differ significantly between patients and controls. Additionally, the associations with the remaining 55 cytokines not eligible for meta-analysis were reviewed.
Conclusions
IL-6 was increased in the peripheral blood of patients with PIBD. Further proteomic studies, including correlation analyses of clinical data, are encouraged.
| Originalsprog | Dansk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | JPGN reports |
| ISSN | 2691-171X |
| DOI | |
| Status | E-pub ahead of print - 27 nov. 2025 |