Jeanty, Herby

Background: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) affects approximately 30% of the global population and is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. Anthropometric indices such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and weight are crucial markers for evaluating the progression of MAFLD. Curcumin, a bioactive compound with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, has been investigated for its potential to improve metabolic outcomes. This umbrella review aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of curcumin supplementation on anthropometric indices in patients with MAFLD, considering epidemiological strength and power analysis. Methods: An umbrella review of meta-analyses from randomized controlled trials was conducted. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched up to September 2024. Meta-analyses assessing curcumin’s effects on BMI, weight, and WC in MAFLD patients were included. Quality was assessed using the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews version (AMSTAR-2) tool, and heterogeneity was evaluated using the I 2 statistic. Statistical analyses were performed using R and Stata 18 software. Results: Curcumin supplementation had no significant effect on BMI (standardized mean difference [SMD]: −0.01; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.24 to 0.21, P = .91) with low power (1-β = 0.03) and a low epidemiological grade according to GRADE criteria. Similarly, curcumin showed no significant effect on WC (SMD: −0.27; 95% CI: −0.57 to 0.04, P = .08) with high power (1-β = 0.96) but low epidemiological strength. However, curcumin significantly reduced weight (SMD: −0.12; 95% CI: −0.19 to −0.04, P < .01) with moderate power (1-β = 0.56) and moderate epidemiological strength. No significant effect of dose or effect of supplementation duration was found. Conclusion: Curcumin supplementation may result in a statistically detectable but clinically modest reduction in body weight in patients with MAFLD, while showing limited or no efficacy on BMI and waist circumference. The epidemiological strength of the evidence varies across outcomes and is of low to moderate quality. Further well-designed, high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the clinical relevance of curcumin’s effects on anthropometric indices.

Objective: This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index in relation to cardiovascular disorders. Methods: Data for the analysis were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection database on 13 July 2024. We utilized VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Biblioshiny tools for the analysis. Results: The study revealed a marked increase in research outputs on the TyG index in recent years, peaking with 137 publications in 2023. China emerged as the leading contributor, followed by the USA. The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College were among the top contributing institutions. Shouling Wu and Shuohua Chen emerged as the leading authors, with the journal Cardiovascular Diabetology publishing the most articles on this topic. Keyword analysis identified “insulin-resistance” as the most frequently occurring term, followed by “risk.” Cluster analysis identified eleven key research areas, including “percutaneous coronary intervention,” “obesity indicators,” “arterial stiffness,” and “heart failure.” Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis highlights the expanding role of the TyG index in metabolic and cardiovascular research. Key clusters such as percutaneous coronary intervention, obesity indicators, arterial stiffness, heart failure, new-onset hypertension, predicting outcomes, and subclinical coronary artery disease emphasize its wide applicability across diverse clinical settings. The keyword “risk” was the most frequently occurring term, underscoring the importance of the TyG index in cardiovascular risk assessment, alongside its growing use in prognostic applications. These findings reflect the increasing recognition of the TyG index as a pivotal biomarker in cardiovascular medicine and encourage further exploration of its clinical integration.