Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2020;75(1):299-309.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-191337.

Associations of Infectious Agents with Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ya-Nan Ou  1 , Jun-Xia Zhu  2 , Xiao-He Hou  1 , Xue-Ning Shen  1 , Wei Xu  1 , Qiang Dong  2 , Lan Tan  1 , Jin-Tai Yu  3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Associations of Infectious Agents with Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ya-Nan Ou et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2020.

Abstract

Background: The role of infectious agents in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has long been debated, however, uncertainties still persist.

Objective: We aimed to illuminate the associations between infectious agents and risk of AD comprehensively.

Methods: Studies examining the associations between AD and infectious agents were identified through a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted. Publication bias was explored using funnel plot.

Results: Fifty-one studies were included in the systematic review, of which forty-seven studies with 108,723 participants and 4,039 AD cases were eligible for meta-analysis. Evidence based on case control studies demonstrated that Chlamydia pneumoniae [odds ratio (OR): 4.39, 95% CI = 1.81-10.67; I2 = 68%)], Human herpes virus-6 (OR: 3.97, 95% CI = 2.04-7.75; I2 = 0%, Epstein-Barr virus (OR:1.45, 95% CI = 1.00-2.08; I2 = 0%), Herpes simplex virus-1 (OR:1.34, 95% CI = 1.02-1.75; I2 = 0%), and the Herpesviridae family (OR:1.41, 95% CI = 1.15-1.74; I2 = 12%) infection were associated with a higher risk of AD. No significant evidence of publication bias was found.

Conclusion: These findings strengthened the evidence that infection may play an important role in AD. Additional research is required to determine whether treatment strategies targeting infectious diseases to prevent AD are viable in the future.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Chlamydia pneumoniae; Herpesviridae; infectious; meta-analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

-