Association between early viral LRTI and subsequent wheezing development, a meta-analysis and sensitivity analyses for studies comparable for confounding factors

Introduction: Consideration of confounding factors about the association between Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTI) in childhood and the development of subsequent wheezing has been incompletely described. We determined the association between viral LRTI at ≤ 5 years of age and the development of wheezing in adolescence or adulthood by a meta-analysis and a sensitivity analysis including comparable studies for major confounding factors. Methods: We performed searches through Pubmed and Global Index Medicus databases. We selected cohort studies comparing the frequency of subsequent wheezing in children with and without LRTI in childhood regardless of the associated virus. We extracted the publication data, clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of the children, and confounding factors. We analyzed data using random effect model. Results: The meta-analysis included 18 publications (22 studies) that met the inclusion criteria. These studies showed that viral LRTI in children ≤ 3 years was associated with an increased risk of subsequent development of wheezing (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 2.4–3.9). The risk of developing subsequent wheezing was conserved when considering studies with comparable groups for socio-demographic and clinical confounders. Conclusions: When considering studies with comparable groups for most confounding factors, our results provided strong evidence for the association between neonatal viral LRTI and the subsequent wheezing development. Further studies, particularly from lower-middle income countries, are needed to investigate the role of non-bronchiolitis and non-HRSV LRTI in the association between viral LRTI in childhood and the wheezing development later. In addition, more studies are needed to investigate the causal effect between childhood viral LRTI and the wheezing development later. Trial registration: Review registration: PROSPERO, CRD42018116955; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42018116955.