Interleukin-18 and interferon gamma levels in preeclampsia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PROBLEM: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between preeclampsia (PE) and circulating interleukin-18 (IL-18) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ).

METHOD OF STUDY: Three electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science) were searched.

RESULTS

Eleven studies with 947 participants reporting IL-18 and 16 studies with 2230 subjects reporting IFN-γ were included. There was no significant difference in the IL-18 levels in PE patients compared with controls. However, IFN-γ was found to be significantly higher in women with PE than that in normotensive pregnant women (standardized mean difference = 0.93; 95% confident interval: 0.07, 1.79). Furthermore, stratification by specimen type, quality score, method of estimation of mean and standard deviation, and whether sampling not in labor/premature rupture of membrane/infection also showed significant differences in standardized mean difference of IL-18, as well as IFN-γ.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis suggests that circulating higher IFN-γ levels may be associated with preeclampsia.