Nutritional and enzymatic comparison between healthy and phenylketonuric individuals: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the differences in selenium averages, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ₁₀), total antioxidant status (TAS), L-carnitine and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), comparing with phenylketonuria patients to healthy individuals, by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: For this research, 24 articles were selected from the PubMed and LILACS databases, 15 contributed data to the statistical analyzes performed with the aid of BioEstat^® 5.3 software. Results: All results regarding serum concentrations showed a reduction in phenylketonurics when compared to healthy individuals: selenium 0.5 times lower; CoQ₁₀ with an average of 0.08 times smaller; TAS with mean difference of 0.15 times smaller; Free L-carnitine with average 7.8 times lower and GPx with 1 times lower concentration. In all means the significance was evident, with p<0.0001. Final considerations: It is evident the need for nutritional supplementation, as an adjunctive treatment to restrictive diet, in order to avoid damage to cell membranes and genetic material.