A systematic review and meta-analysis on the risk factors of acute myeloid leukemia

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the main types of leukemia that threatens the life and health of patients. A large number of clinical studies have been conducted on the etiology of the disease. However, there are few evidence-based medical studies and no definitive treatment guidelines. Methods: Related articles were searched from Medline, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), EBSCO, OVID, Chinese Biology Medicine Disc (CBMDISC), and Wanfang databases. The search time limit was from the establishment of the database to September 2021. The search terms were as follows: acute myeloid leukemia, AML, electromagnetic field, case-control study, cohort study, and risk factors. All literatures were included according to PICOS standards, and the risk of deviation and literature quality were assessed. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Results: The 10 articles included were of high quality and low bias risk. The research results showed that compared with healthy people, among the risk factors for AML, family tumor history [risk ratio (RR) =0.98; 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.57, 1.69); Z=0.08; P=0.94] and the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection rate [odds ratio (OR) =1.34; 95% CI: (0.57, 3.13); Z=0.68; P=0.50] showed no significant differences, but the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection rate [OR =1.60; 95% CI: (1.17, 2.19); Z=2.92; P=0.003] and environmental exposure rate [OR =1.49; 95% CI: (1.01, 2.21); Z=2.02; P=0.04] increased significantly. Conclusions: A total of 10 articles were included to analyze AML risk factors and related content. The results suggested that HCV infection and environmental exposure history such as home decoration were risk factors for AML.