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