This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • eTables  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Dermatology  • Dermatologic Disorders  • Quality of Care  • Evidence-Based Medicine  • Dermatologic Disorders, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

A Reciprocal Association Determined by a Meta-analysis

Liu Shengyuan, PhD; Yao Songpo, MD; Wei Wen, MD; Tian Wenjing, PhD; Zhang Haitao, MD; Wang Binyou, PhD

Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(9):1040-1047.

Objective  To explore the association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) and lichen planus (LP) by performing a meta-analysis of observational studies of the association.

Data Sources  Bibliographical searches were conducted in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases without any language limitations.

Study Selection  Studies were selected when the following criteria were met: the coexistence of a study group and a control group, the reliable and nonselective use of the reference standards for the diagnosis of LP and HCV, and the proportion of events (the prevalence of HCV in patients with LP or the prevalence of LP in patients with HCV).

Data Extraction  Three investigators independently assessed abstracts for relevant studies, and 2 investigators independently reviewed all eligible studies.

Data Synthesis  Sixty-three articles entailing 7 studies were included in the meta-analysis. For the primary outcome of prevalence of events, the meta-analysis showed that there existed an important association between HCV and LP. In the comparison of the prevalence of HCV exposure among patients with LP with that of control participants, the odds ratio (OR) was 5.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.5-8.3); in the prevalence of LP among patients with HCV compared with the prevalence among control participants, the OR was 2.5 (95% CI, 2.0-3.1). The subgroup analyses with geographical stratification did not show a significant association in studies from South Asia (P = .21), Africa (P = .15), and North America (P = .09), and the subgroup analyses from stratification by LP type also did not show a significant association in the isolated cutaneous type (P = .17). When strict criteria were applied, the results of sensitivity analysis remained robust.

Conclusion  Hepatitis C virus infection is associated with a statistically significant risk for development of LP, suggesting that the presence of either HCV or certain types of LP may be used as a predictive marker of the other in certain geographical regions.

Author Affiliations: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLES

The Relationship Between Lichen Planus and Hepatitis C Clarified
Michael Bigby
Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(9):1048-1050.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

This Month in Archives of Dermatology
Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(9):978.
FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

The Relationship Between Lichen Planus and Hepatitis C Clarified
Bigby
Arch Dermatol 2009;145:1048-1050.
FULL TEXT