SynthesisThe Journal of infection2020
Upper airways colonisation of Streptococcus pneumoniae in adults aged 60 years and older: A systematic review of prevalence and individual participant data meta-analysis of risk factors.
Synthesis in The Journal of infection, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Molecular Epidemiology ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Pneumococcal Vaccine for Adults Aged ≥19 Years: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, United States, 2023.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2023Guideline
- Effects of attenuated influenza virus administration to young children on pneumococcal density and acquisition in UK families: a randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Microbe · 2026Trial
- Prevalence, Serotype Distribution, and Risk Factors Associated WithOpen forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Bacterial and host factors affecting acquisition ofInfection and immunity · 2026Article
- Bacterial and host factors affecting acquisition ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Extracellular adenosine released by mesenchymal stromal cells from young hosts boosts the antimicrobial activity of neutrophils from aged hosts againstImmunotherapy advances · 2026Article
- Susceptibility Patterns and Factors Associated with Multidrug Antibiotic Resistance Among Patients with Productive Cough in Southwestern Uganda.Infection and drug resistance · 2026Article
- High Propensity for Multidrug-Resistant Pneumococcal Shedding Among Adults Living With HIV on Stable Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Observational
- Persistence of Vaccine Serotype Carriage and Differences in Pneumococcal Carriage by Laboratory Method and Sample Type in Indigenous Individuals in the Southwest United States.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Observational
- Article
- Inflammation of the nasal mucosa is associated with susceptibility to experimental pneumococcal challenge in older adults.Mucosal immunology · 2024Article
- Decreased Pneumococcal Carriage Among Older Adults in Denmark During the COVID-19 Lockdown.Open forum infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Pneumococcal Serotype Evolution and Burden in European Adults in the Last Decade: A Systematic Review.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Unmasking Pneumococcal Carriage in a High Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Prevalence Population in two Community Cohorts in South Africa, 2016-2018: The PHIRST Study.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2023Article
- Inhaled Corticosteroids in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Risk of AcquiringInternational journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2023Article
- A multiomics analysis of direct interkingdom dynamics between influenza A virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae uncovers host-independent changes to bacterial virulence fitness.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Effect of Oral Streptococci Expressing Pneumococcus-like Cross-Reactive Capsule Types on World Health Organization Recommended Pneumococcal Carriage Detection Procedure.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022Article
- Neutrophil Recruitment in Pneumococcal Pneumonia.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
28 authors at 19 institutions in 14 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundColonisation with Streptococcus pneumoniae can lead to invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia. Pneumococcal acquisition and prevalence of colonisation are high in children. In older adults, a population susceptible to pneumococcal disease, colonisation prevalence is reported to be lower, but studies are heterogeneous.
methodsThis is a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence of, and risk factors for, pneumococcal colonisation in adults ≥ 60 years of age (PROSPERO #42016036891). We identified peer-reviewed studies reporting the prevalence of S. pneumoniae colonisation using MEDLINE and EMBASE (until April 2016), excluding studies of acute disease. Participant-level data on risk factors were sought from each study.
findingsOf 2202 studies screened, 29 were analysable: 18 provided participant-level data (representing 6290 participants). Prevalence of detected pneumococcal colonisation was 0-39% by conventional culture methods and 3-23% by molecular methods. In a multivariate analysis, colonisation was higher in persons from nursing facilities compared with the community (odds ratio (OR) 2•30, 95% CI 1•26-4•21 and OR 7•72, 95% CI 1•15-51•85, respectively), in those who were currently smoking (OR 1•69, 95% CI 1•12-2•53) or those who had regular contact with children (OR 1•93, 95%CI 1•27-2•93). Persons living in urban areas had significantly lower carriage prevalence (OR 0•43, 95%CI 0•27-0•70).
interpretationOverall prevalence of pneumococcal colonisation in older adults was higher than expected but varied by risk factors. Future studies should further explore risk factors for colonisation, to highlight targets for focussed intervention such as pneumococcal vaccination of high-risk groups.
fundingNo funding was required.
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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.