ObjectiveTo systematically review the association between dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) and chronic urticarial (CU).
MethodsWe searched databases including The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2015), PubMed, EMbase, CBM, VIP, CNKI and WanFang Data from inception to January 2016, to collect case-control studies about the association between DHEA-S and CU. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.
ResultsA total of 8 papers involving 9 case-control studies were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that DHEA-S might be associated with CU (SMD=-0.93, 95%CI -1.35 to -0.50, P<0.000 01). Subgroup analysis by the difference of measuring methods, indicated that DHEA-S might be associated with CU (ECLIA: SMD=-0.75, 95% CI -1.08 to -0.42, P<0.000 01; ELISA: SMD=-0.59, 95% CI -0.87 to -0.31, P<0.000 1; EIA: SMD=-2. 70, 95% CI -3.30 to -2.10, P<0.000 01). Sensitivity analysis showed that our results were reliable and stable.
ConclusionThe meta-analysis suggests that DHEA-S might be associated with CU. Due to the limited quality and quantity of included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
