Coronary artery disease in primary biliary cirrhosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Abstract

To investigate the association between primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published observational studies that reported relative risks, odd ratios, hazard ratios or standardized incidence ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing CAD risk in patients with PBC versus non-PBC controls. Pooled risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were combined using a random-effect model and generic inverse variance of DerSimonian and Laird methods. Four studies with 3362 patients with PBC were identified and included in our data analysis. The pooled risk ratio of CAD in patients with PBC was 1.57 (95% CI, 1.21-2.06). The statistical heterogeneity was low with an I(2) of 38%. Our study demonstrated a statistically significant increased risk of CAD among patients with PBC.