Association between spexin and type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Accumulating evidence suggests that spexin is implicated in cellular energy balance, glucose and lipid metabolism, appetite suppression, and water-electrolyte regulation, and is closely associated with metabolic conditions including obesity, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia. However, due to limitations in sample size, ethnic diversity among study populations, and variability in clinical study designs, existing findings on the association between spexin and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remain inconsistent.

AIM

This meta-analysis aimed to statistically evaluate the level of spexin in patients with T2DM.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted across five electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, OVID, Elsevier Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library). The search strategy targeted the terms "spexin" in conjunction with "Type 2 diabetes mellitus" or "T2DM" in title and abstract fields. Results are presented as standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

Eleven articles (1,122 cases and 681 controls) were included in the meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that the circulating spexin in patients with T2DM was significantly lower than that of the controls (SMD: -2.32, 95% CI: -3.32, -1.31).

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis is the first to comprehensively evaluate the level of circulating spexin in patients with T2DM. Given the substantial heterogeneity observed, the conclusions should be interpreted with caution. Future studies with standardized methodologies are needed to validate our findings and investigate the potential mechanisms.

Copyright © 2026 Sun, Yao, Kuang and Xin.