Effect of egg consumption on inflammatory markers: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

Abstract

There is little evidence about whether eggs affect inflammation. The aim of this meta-analysis was to explore the effects of egg consumption on inflammation. A systematic search of online databases (Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), Scopus, Ovid, PubMed, Cochrane) was used to gather clinical trials that assessed the effect of egg consumption on circulating inflammatory biomarkers. Using a random-effects model, pooled weighted mean differences (WMD) and corresponding standard deviations (SD) were calculated. Of the 21 eligible studies found, nine trials were eligible for analysis. Eight trials assessed high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), four trials assessed interleukin-6 (IL-6), and five trials assessed tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Egg consumption did not affect hs-CRP (WMD 0.24 mg/L; 95% CI: -0.43, 0.90; I2 =53.8; P = 0.48), IL-6 (WMD 0.20 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.71, 1.11; I2 = 69.3; P = 0.50), and TNF-α (WMD: -0.38 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.87, 0.10; I2 = 0.00; P = 0.12) relative to controls. Overall, this meta-analysis revealed that egg consumption had no significant effect on serum biomarkers of inflammation in adults. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.