Effects of coenzyme Q₁₀ on cardiovascular and metabolic biomarkers in overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a pooled analysis

Abstract

Background

The potential effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ₁₀) supplementation in overweight/obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are not fully established. In this article, we aimed to perform a pooled analysis to investigate the effects of CoQ₁₀ intervention on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in overweight/obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods

MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that evaluated the changes in CVD risk factors among overweight and obese patients with T2DM following CoQ₁₀ supplementation. Two investigators independently assessed articles for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. Major endpoints were synthesized as weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% CIs. Subgroup analyses were performed to check the consistency of effect sizes across groups. Publication bias and sensitivity analysis were also performed.

Results

Fourteen eligible trials with 693 overweight/obese diabetic subjects were included for pooling. CoQ₁₀ interventions significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG; −0.59 mmol/L; 95% CI, −1.05 to −0.12; P=0.01), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c; –0.28%; 95% CI−0.53 to −0.03; P=0.03), and triglyceride (TG) levels (0.17 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.32 to −0.03; P=0.02). Subgroup analysis also showed that low-dose consumption of CoQ₁₀ (<200 mg/d) effectively reduces the values of FBG, HbA1c, fasting blood insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, and TG. CoQ₁₀ treatment was well tolerated, and no drug-related adverse reactions were reported.

Conclusion

Our findings provide substantial evidence that daily CoQ₁₀ supplementation has beneficial effects on glucose control and lipid management in overweight and obese patients with T2DM.

Keywords:

• coenzyme Q10
• type 2 diabetes mellitus
• cardiovascular risk factors
• lipids
• glucose
• obesity

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Social Development Project of Dongguan City under grants 2016108101021 and 2014108101054.

Disclosure

Haohai Huang and Honggang Chi contributed equally to this work. The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.