SynthesisThorax2025
Inhalational exposures associated with risk of interstitial lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Thorax, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- An Evidence-Based Exposure Questionnaire for Interstitial Lung Disease: EXPO-ILD.CHEST pulmonary · 2026Article
- Advances in pharmacotherapy for fibrotic interstitial lung disease.Medical review (2021) · 2026Review
- Muddy Water Pneumonitis: An Emerging Occupational Lung Disease in Professional Divers.Respirology case reports · 2026Article
- Profibrotic predictive toxicology in the lung.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of pneumothorax in pneumoconiosis: a tertiary referral cohort study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Interstitial lung abnormalities: to treat or not to treat? The hamlet dilemma.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Global, regional, and national burden of interstitial lung disease in middle-aged and older adults from 1990 to 2021 with projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the 2021 Global Burden of Disease Study.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Rural and urban environmental exposures and the risk of progressive pulmonary fibrosis.Therapeutic advances in respiratory diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleInhalational exposures are associated with risk of developing interstitial lung disease (ILD), yet the relationship between specific exposures and ILD is poorly characterised.
objectiveIdentify inhalational exposures associated with ILD and estimate the effects of exposures on ILD risk.
methodsMEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched from 1990 to 2022 to identify inhalational exposures associated with ILD diagnosis. ILDs where causality is well-established (hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pneumoconiosis) and sarcoidosis were excluded. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts with full-text review and data extraction of eligible studies. Where possible, data were pooled and multilevel meta-analysis was specified using a random effects model. Sources of heterogeneity and risk of bias were assessed. MAIN
results96 studies were included in the systematic review, representing 40 819 116 subjects (295 167 had ILD, 40 523 949 controls). For the meta-analysis, 54 studies were included (40 490 793 subjects: 273 899 ILD, 40 216 894 controls). Exposures associated with significantly increased ILD risk included smoking (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.47 to 1.94), organic exposures (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.16), metals (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.16), dust (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.76) and asbestos (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.15). Silica and fumes had positive associations with ILD that trended towards significance.
conclusionsThis systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis is the first to comprehensively assess the effect of inhalational exposures on overall risk of ILD, with multiple putative exposures identified. Future work should investigate novel occupational exposures associated with ILD, characterise the gene-environment interaction and develop preventative strategies. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022292908.
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