The risk of systemic lupus erythematosus associated with Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Several organs are involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disorder. The possible role of Herpesviruses have also been extensively in the development of SLE. To understand the more information about the epidemiology association between Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) and SLE, we designed this study with the purpose of a systematic review and meta-analysis of the seropositivity rate and the presence of HHV-8 DNA among SLE patients in comparison to controls. Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out in the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Embase databases. The search was limited to the papers that were published by international authors to end of 31 October 2019. Data analysis were performed by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software Version 2.2 (Biostat, USA). Results: The positive rate of HHV-8 DNA was 4.1 and 1 for the SLE and the control group, respectively. The overall prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies was estimated at 13 and 2.9 among the SLE and the control group, respectively. The pooled odds ratios (OR) from these studies was 8.06 and 4.52 based on molecular and serological methods and representing a significant association between risk of HHV-8 and SLE than in the healthy controls. According to Q statistic and the I2 index, heterogeneity was not significant for the SLE and the control group. Conclusion: In conclusion, HHV-8 prevalence was significantly high in SLE patients than healthy group based on two detection methods. Therefore, our finding suggested the possible role between HHV-8 and the development of lupus.