Association of preserved ratio impaired spirometry with mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Preserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm) is prevalent within the general population. Increased mortality has been reported among subjects with PRISm, but the evidence has never been summarised. This systematic review aims to synthesise evidence on the association between PRISm and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory-related mortality.

We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science for population-based cohort studies from inception to April 2023 using the terms related to impaired spirometry and mortality. Titles and abstracts were screened to identify eligible studies that reported mortality estimates for individuals with PRISm. We excluded studies that adopted other definitions of impaired spirometry, had a specific study setting (e.g. HIV patients), had an insufficient follow-up period (<1 year) or reported duplicated data. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to produce pooled hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed with I².

Eight studies met the inclusion criteria involving 40 699 individuals with PRISm. All included studies reported increased risk of all-cause mortality among adults with PRISm. Meta-analysis showed that PRISm was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (pooled HR 1.71, 95% CI 1.51-1.93; I²=64%), cardiovascular mortality (pooled HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.44-1.72; I²=35%) and respiratory-related mortality (pooled HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.55-2.49; I²=0%).

Individuals with PRISm have a significantly increased risk of mortality compared with those with normal spirometry.