Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31730835›Full record

SynthesisChest2020

Viral Infection Increases the Risk of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: A Meta-Analysis.

Gaohong Sheng, Peng Chen, Yanqiu Wei, Huihui Yue, Jiaojiao Chu, Jianping Zhao, Yihua Wang, Wanguang Zhang, Hui-Lan Zhang

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Chest, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 132 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
132citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
19.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

132 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 208 citations in OpenAlex.

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  10. Inflammasomes in respiratory diseases: from disease pathogenesis to drug development and use of multi-omics.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Murine models of pulmonary fibrosis: mechanisms, limitations and translational insights.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Review
  13. Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract Compartmentalization in Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation.American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology · 2026
    Article
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72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Gaohong ShengDepartment of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Peng ChenDivision of Cardiology, Departments of Internal Medicine and Genetic Diagnosis Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Mechanism of Cardiological Disorders, Wuhan, China.
Yanqiu WeiDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Huihui YueDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Jiaojiao ChuDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Jianping ZhaoDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Yihua WangBiological Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, and the Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
Wanguang ZhangHepatic Surgery Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Hui-Lan ZhangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: huilanz_76@163.com.
Huazhong University of Science and Technology · CNTongji Hospital · CNUniversity of Southampton · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, fibrotic lung disease with a poor prognosis. Although many factors have been identified that possibly trigger or aggravate IPF, such as viral infection, the exact cause of IPF remains unclear. Until now, there has been no systematic review to assess the role of viral infection in IPF quantitatively.

objectiveThis meta-analysis aims to present a collective view on the relationship between viral infection and IPF.

methodsWe searched studies reporting the effect of viral infection on IPF in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Wiley Online Library databases. We calculated ORs with 95% CIs to assess the risk of virus in IPF. We also estimated statistical heterogeneity by using I

resultsWe analyzed 20 case-control studies from 10 countries with 1,287 participants. The pooled OR of all viruses indicated that viral infection could increase the risk of IPF significantly (OR, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.61-7.52; P = .001), but not that of exacerbation of IPF (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.47-2.12; P = .988). All analyzed viruses, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7), and human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), were associated with a significant elevation in the risk of IPF, except human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6).

conclusionsThe presence of persistent or chronic, but not acute, viral infections, including EBV, CMV, HHV-7, and HHV-8, significantly increases the risk of developing IPF, but not exacerbation of IPF. These findings imply that viral infection could be a potential risk factor for IPF.

Indexed as

Chronic DiseaseHumansIdiopathic Pulmonary FibrosisRisk FactorsVirus Diseasesidiopathic pulmonary fibrosismeta-analysisviral infectionvirus

Identifiers

PMID31730835
PMCPMC7214095
OpenAlexW2987935015

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.