Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Cytomegalovirus infection and its association with systemic lupus erythematosus: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors' conclusion
This meta-analysis shows a link between CMV infection and SLE, suggesting CMV may be an environmental risk factor in SLE pathogenesis.
Study context
- Population
- Case-control studies examining cytomegalovirus (CMV) prevalence and SLE association (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, ScienceDirect)Twelve case-control studies
- Participants
- 1,267 vs 1,417
- Comparison
- SLE vs healthy controls
- SLEn = 1,267
- Healthy controlsn = 1,417reference
- Outcome
- Association of CMV infection markers (CMV DNA, IgM, IgG, IgA) with SLE
Methodological detailsNewcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessment, sensitivity analyses
- Newcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessment
- Sensitivity analyses
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
CMV markers, SLE vs controls
SLE vs Healthy controlsEstimate (95% CI)P value
Variability across studies; interpret with caution
OR (CMV DNA) 9.727(1.136–83.260)
P = 0.038CMV markers, SLEvs controls
OR (CMV IgM) 2.630(1.665–4.155)
P = 0.000Further pooled results
CMV marker prevalence in healthy controls
- CMV IgG
- 0.728
- CMV IgA
- 0.641
- CMV DNA
- 0.095
- CMV IgM
- 0.051
Original publication
Cytomegalovirus infection and its association with systemic lupus erythematosus: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Lupus. Published 12 February 2026. doi:10.
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