Inositol and cholesterol levels in people with metabolic diseases
What it found
In people with metabolic diseases, inositol supplements lowered triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, but made no difference to HDL cholesterol.
The authors pooled 14 randomised trials.
What they found
Studies in people
Triglycerides lowered
Pooled results from the trials showed inositol supplements lowered triglycerides in people with metabolic diseases. The effect was strongest in people without PCOS and at doses under 2000 mg a day.
Total cholesterol lowered
Inositol supplements lowered total cholesterol across the pooled trials. The effect was strongest in people without PCOS and at doses under 2000 mg a day.
LDL cholesterol lowered
Inositol supplements lowered LDL cholesterol in the pooled trials. The effect was strongest at doses under 2000 mg a day and in trials lasting under 14 weeks.
HDL cholesterol unchanged
Overall, inositol supplements made no difference to HDL cholesterol in people with metabolic diseases. In subgroup analyses, HDL rose in people with PCOS and in trials lasting under 14 weeks, but fell when myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositol were given together.
Other findings
Publication bias
The authors found signs of publication bias for triglycerides and total cholesterol, meaning smaller studies with negative results may have been missed. After adjusting for this, the triglyceride result grew stronger and the total cholesterol result stayed significant.
What the authors conclude
“Inositol supplementation may result in reduction in triglycerides, total- and LDL-cholesterol levels, but did not affect HDL-cholesterol levels among patients with metabolic diseases.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that inositol supplementation may result in reduction in triglycerides, total- and LDL-cholesterol levels, but did not affect HDL-cholesterol levels among patients with metabolic diseases.
- They advise that additional prospective studies regarding the effect of inositol supplementation on lipid profiles in patients with metabolic diseases are necessary.
How it was done
Earlier studies of inositol on blood fats in people with metabolic diseases had given conflicting results, so the authors pooled the randomised trial evidence.
They combined 14 randomised controlled trials of inositol supplements in people with metabolic diseases, published from 1999 to 2017. Doses ranged from 688 mg to 4000 mg a day, and trials lasted from 6 weeks to 12 months.
What it can’t tell you
- The trials used different doses and types of inositol, so the authors could not work out a dose response.
- There was high heterogeneity between the included trials, so the authors say their results should be interpreted with more caution.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE: This study was considered exempt by the SUMS Institutional Review Board. COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
- Authors work at
- Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Islamic Republic of Iran; University of Alberta, Canada
The paper
- Title
- The effects of inositol supplementation on lipid profiles among patients with metabolic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Tabrizi R, Ostadmohammadi V, Lankarani KB, et al (2018). The effects of inositol supplementation on lipid profiles among patients with metabolic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Lipids in health and disease. doi:10.1186/s12944-018-0779-4Free full textPubMed 29793496DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error