Association of early viral lower respiratory infections and subsequent development of atopy, a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

Existing evidence on the relationship between childhood lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and the subsequent atopy development is controversial. We aimed to investigate an association between viral LRTI at 2 years. We conducted a search at Embase, Pubmed, Web of Science, and Global Index Medicus. We collected data from the included articles. We estimated the odds ratio and the 95% confidence intervals with a random effect model. We determined factors associated with atopy development after childhood LRTI using univariate and multivariate meta-regression analyses. We recorded this systematic review at PROSPERO with the number CRD42018116955. We included 24 studies. There was no relationship between viral LRTI at