ReviewJournal of diabetes and metabolic disorders2026
The effect of opioids on the blood glucose level and lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Opioids are widely used worldwide for managing acute and chronic pain, yet their systemic effects on metabolic parameters remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the impact of opioid use on blood glucose levels and lipid profiles. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases up to March 2025. Eligible studies included clinical trials and observational studies comparing blood glucose and lipid parameters between adult opioid users and non-users. Pooled mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model. Results: Twenty-five studies involving 9,225 opioid users and 27,462 non-users were included. Opioid use was associated with statistically significant but clinically modest reduction in fasting blood sugar (FBS; MD: - 3.00 mg/dl, 95% CI: - 5.71 to - 0.29, Conclusion: Natural opiates such as opium may slightly lower FBS and LDL levels, whereas synthetic opioids like methadone tend to elevate them. These effects are generally modest and clinically insignificant, providing no evidence of a protective metabolic role for opioids. Clinicians should remain cautious against the misconception that opium use improves metabolic health. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-026-01885-9.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.