Galectin-3 is Associated with Heart Failure Incidence: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT Introduction Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of death worldwide. The global prevalence of heart failure is projected to increase rapidly in the coming decades, and significant attention has turned to improving biomarker-based risk prediction of incident HF. The aim of this paper was to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the evidence associating levels of galectin-3 with risk of incident HF. Methods A review of PUBMED-indexed peer-reviewed literature was performed. Nine studies met inclusion criteria, and all nine had data eligible for conversion and pooling. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed using hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals from a minimally adjusted model, a further adjusted model, and from subgroups within the further-adjusted model. Results The minimally-adjusted model provided a HR of 1.97 (95% CI 1.74-2.23) when comparing the top quartile of log-gal-3 to the bottom quartile. The further-adjusted model provided a HR of 1.32 (95% CI 1.21-1.44) for the same comparison. The positive, significant association was conserved during sensitivity analysis. Conclusion There is a significant positive association between levels of circulating galectin-3 and risk of incident heart failure. Given the complex mechanistic relationship between galectin-3 and cardiovascular pathophysiology, further investigation is recommended for possible implementation of galectin-3 into clinical risk prediction models.