SynthesisBMC public health2025
Vaccination and rheumatoid arthritis: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of data from 25,949,597 participants.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Hearing loss and its association with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A meta-analysis of cohort studies.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Analysis of vaccine adverse events associated with rheumatoid arthritis: A pharmacovigilance study based on the VAERS database.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association between vaccinations and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), specifically addressing concerns about a potential increased risk among vaccinated individuals.
methodsA systematic search for cohort studies and case-control studies examining the association between vaccinations and RA was conducted using Medical Subject Headings and relevant keywords across PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to September 2024. The risk of bias of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system was employed to evaluate the overall certainty of evidence. Statistical analyses, i.e., pooling of relative risk (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI), were performed using a random-effects model on STATA software (version 14.0). Due to the I² value exceeding 50%, we did not perform an asymmetry test to assess publication bias.
resultsThis meta-analysis included 16 observational studies conducted between 2008 and 2024 and involving a total of 25,949,597 participants. The follow-up duration ranged from 0.03 to 9 years, while the data collection period varied from 2.75 to 9.5 years. The analysis found no significant association between vaccination exposure and RA [RR = 1.03, 95% CI (0.95-1.11), I²=93.4%, P = 0.456, low level of evidence]. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of this result. Subgroup analyses revealed no significant risk of RA associated with HPV vaccination [RR = 1.27 95% CI (0.78-2.08), I²=81.4%, P = 0.339], influenza vaccination [RR = 1.10, 95% CI (0.98-1.23), I²=52.4%, P = 0.112], Anthrax vaccination [RR = 2.21, 95% CI (0.75-6.52)], Herpes Zoster vaccination [RR = 2.70, 95% CI (1.70-4.29)], or COVID-19 vaccination [RR = 0.94, 95% CI (0.82-1.07), I²=97.4%, P = 0.340]. However, the subgroup with a follow-up duration varying between 0.5 and 1.8 years showed that (HPV & COVID-19) vaccination had a significant protective effect on RA [RR = 0.92, 95% CI (0.87-0.98), I²=95.3%, P = 0.005].
conclusionThe evidence for the association between vaccination and RA risk is insufficient, and vaccination may serve as a protective factor for RA over a less than one year follow-up duration.
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Registered trials
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