Risk of asthma in heterozygous carriers for cystic fibrosis: A meta-analysis

Background: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have a higher prevalence of asthma than the background population, however, it is unclear whether heterozygous CF carriers are susceptible to asthma. Given this, a meta -analysis is necessary to determine the veracity of the association of CF heterozygosity with asthma. Methods: We screened the medical literature from 1966 to 2015 and performed a meta -analysis to determine the risk of asthma in CF heterozygotes vs. non -carriers. Results: Aggregating data from 15 studies, the odds ratio for asthma in CF heterozygotes compared with non -carriers was significantly elevated at 1.61 (95% CI: 1.18-2.21). When analyzing the studies considered of high quality in which asthma was diagnosed by a physician, the patients were > 18 years, or study size was >= 500, the trend remained the same, that heterozygous carriers of CF had elevated risk for asthma. Conclusions: The results show that heterozygous carriers for CF have a higher risk of asthma than non-carriers. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Cystic Fibrosis Society.