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Meta-analysis of systemic sclerosis and exposure to solvents
B K Aryal1, S A Khuder, E A Schaub
1Department of Public Health, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio 43614-5809, USA.
Background:
Although systemic sclerosis is a rare disease, incidence rates have increased recently in the United States. This study investigated the association between systemic sclerosis and exposure to solvents.
Methods:
A Medline search of articles published between 1966 and 2000 dealing with solvent exposure and systemic sclerosis identified eight studies that met inclusion criteria of the meta-analysis. The studies included seven case-control studies and one cohort study published between 1989 and 1998. A series of meta-analyses of studies on systemic sclerosis and solvent exposure were performed for all studies and for case-control studies. A random effect model was used to calculate a combined estimator of relative risk.
Results:
The combined estimator of relative risk for all studies was 2.91, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.60 to 5.30. The combined estimator of relative risk for the seven case-control studies was 3.14 (95% CI, 1.56-6.33).
Conclusions:
A statistically significant increased relative risk for all studies and for case-control studies suggests that exposure to organic solvent may be a risk factor for developing systemic sclerosis. Further studies using other study designs and better control of confounders are needed.