Assessment of Quality of Methodology of the Studies Using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale.

<p>‘Y’ denotes ‘yes’ and ‘N’ denotes ‘no’. Quality items: 1) Definition of case; 2) Representativeness of the cases; 3) Selection of Controls; 4) Definition of Controls; 5) Study control for age; 6) Study controls for smoking; 7) Ascertainment of exposure; 8) Same method of ascertainment for cases and controls; 9) Non-response rate.</p

Characteristics of the Studies Included in the Meta-analysis of Association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> with Age-related Macular Degeneration.

<p>AMD: age related macular degeneration; n: number; USA: United States of America; UK: United Kingdom; NA: not available; ELISA: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction; MIF: Microimmunofluorescence; C.P. <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i>.</p

Serological Association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> Infection with Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Background</p><p>We investigated the serological association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).</p><p>Methods</p><p>A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology abstracts were searched to identify studies investigating the serological association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection with age-related macular degeneration. The quality of original studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Heterogeneity was explored with meta-regression. The odds ratios (ORs) and standardized mean differences (SMD) of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD patients and controls were pooled.</p><p>Results</p><p>In total, 9 studies met the inclusion criteria using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale scores ranging from 4 to 9. There was heterogeneity among studies due to a difference in the study designs and measurement of exposure to <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection. The overall OR of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection with AMD was 1.11 (95% confidence interval: 0.78–1.57, <i>P</i> = 0.56). The overall SMD of antibody titer between AMD and control was 0.43 (95% confidence interval: −0.12 to 0.99, <i>P</i> = 0.13).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Evidence from the current published literature suggested no statistically significant association between <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection and AMD.</p></div

PRISMA flow diagram showing the result of literature screening for meta-analysis.

<p>PRISMA flow diagram showing the result of literature screening for meta-analysis.</p

Meta-analysis of the serologic association of with <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> and the prevalence of AMD.

<p>A: Forest plot comparing the positive rate of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD cases and controls; squares indicate study-specific odds ratio (OR). B: Funnel plots for positive rate of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD cases and controls; C: Forest plot comparing the IgG antibody titers of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD cases and controls; squares indicate study-specific standardized mean difference (SMD). The size of the box is proportional to the weight of the study; horizontal lines indicate 95% confidence interval (CI); diamond indicates summary OR or SMD with its corresponding 95% CI.</p

Additional file 1: of Eye exercises of acupoints: their impact on myopia and visual symptoms in Chinese rural children

Eye exercises of acupoints questionnaire. (DOCX 12 kb