Resumen: Background: HIV can infect bronchial epithelial cells rendering individuals susceptible to lung damage. Our objective was to determine the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on pulmonary function tests.
Methods:We performed a meta-analysis after conducting a literature search in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Virtual Health Library databases from inception to December 31st, 2022. We employed the inverse variance method with a random effects model to calculate the effect estimate as the mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). We calculated the heterogeneity with the I2 statistic and performed a meta-regression analysis by age, sex, smoking, CD4 T-cells count and antiretroviral therapy. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis according to the studies’ publication date, and excluding the study with the greatest weight in the effect. The PROSPERO registry number was CRD42023401105.
Results: The meta-analysis included 20 studies, with 7621 living with HIV and 7410 control participants. The pooled MD (95%CI) for the predicted percentage of FEV1, FVC and DLCO were −3.12 (−5.17, −1.06); p = 0.003, −1.51 (−3.04, 0.02); p = 0.05, and −5.26 (−6.64, −3.87); p < 0.001, respectively. The pooled MD for FEV1/FVC was −0.01 (−0.02, −0.01); p = 0.002. In all cases, there was a considerable heterogeneity. The meta-regression analysis showed that among studies heterogeneity was not explained by patient age, smoking, CD4 T-cells count or antiretroviral therapy.