The effect of acarbose on lipid profiles in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Table 4 GRADE profile of acarbose for lipid profiles

Outcomes	Risk of bias	Inconsistency	Indirectness	Imprecision	Publication Bias	WMD (95%CI)	Quality of evidence
TG	Serious limitation	Very serious limitation^a	No serious limitation	No serious limitation	Serious limitation	−13.43 (− 19.20, −7.67)	⊕ ⊕ ⊕◯ Moderate
TC	Serious limitation	Serious limitation^a	No serious limitation	No serious limitation	No serious limitation	−1.93 (−3.71, −0.15)	⊕ ⊕ ◯◯ Low
LDL	Serious limitation	Very serious limitation^a	No serious limitation	Serious limitation^b	No serious limitation	0.41 (−1.30, 2.14)	⊕ ⊕ ⊕◯ Moderate
HDL	Serious limitation	Very serious limitation^a	No serious limitation	Serious limitation^b	No serious limitation	0.10 (−0.69, 0.91)	⊕ ⊕ ⊕◯ Moderate

Abbreviations: HDL high density lipoprotein, LDL low-density lipoprotein, TC total cholesterol, TG triglyceride
^aThere is significant heterogeneity for TG (I² = 86.8%), TC (I² = 67.0%), LDL (I² = 79.3%) and HDL (I² = 87.2%)
^bThere is no evidence of significant effects of acarbose consumption on LDL and HDL

ISSN: 2050-6511