Table 2 Meta-regression models

	k	Total N	QAT ^a					QAT+symptoms
			Q	df	R²	Covariates	β	Q	df	R²	Covariates	β
Acute phase proteins
CRP	16	13 374	0.6865	1.14	0.0436	QAT	−0.2088	1.6658	2.13	0.1015	QAT Symptoms	−0.2832 −0.2513
Fibrinogen	4	1890	0.0010	1.2	0.0008	QAT	−0.0284		—^b
Proinflammatory cytokines
IL-1β	4	304	0.1287	1.2	0.0598	QAT	−0.2446	16.6775^†	2.1	0.9728	QAT Symptoms	−0.2522 1.0175^‡
IL-2	4	362	1.5621	1.2	0.4690	QAT	0.6848	0.8805	2.1	0.4682	QAT Symptoms	0.6657 0.0257
IL-6	26	7295	17.0306^‡	1.25	0.2773	QAT	0.5266^‡	31.6302^‡	2.24	0.3845	QAT Symptoms	0.3812^ 0.3568^
IL-8	5	349	4.9369*	1.3	0.6327	QAT	0.7954*	3.6573	2.2	0.6500	QAT Symptoms	0.7479 0.1426
TNF-α	11	1899	3.6164	1.9	0.2454	QAT	0.4954	3.5195	2.8	0.2512	QAT Symptoms	0.4455 0.0937

Abbreviations: k, number of studies included in analysis; Q, test statistic (F-analog) of the variability explained by the meta-regression model; R², coefficient of determination for meta-regression model (variance explained by model); Total N, total number of participants; β, standardized regression coefficient.
*P⩽0.05, **P⩽0.01, ^†P⩽0.001, ^‡P⩽0.0001.
^aQAT=Quality Assessment Tool:⁴¹ these analyses used an average score including selection bias, study design, percent of relevant covariates controlled, use of reliable and valid assessments, and use of appropriate data analysis techniques.
The studies in this analysis did not include any symptomatic groups of participants.

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