The effect of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection on serum lipid profile: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The meta-analysis presented in this study aimed to evaluate the Chlamydia pneumoniae infection on serum lipid profile. Systematic electronic research was conducted using related keywords on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science by July 30th. Regarding 1296 articles found on the association between C. pneumoniae infection and serum lipid profile, 15 related studies were included in meta-analysis. A random-effect model was used to measure pooled estimates. All data were analyzed by CMA software. The results of the present study indicated that there was no significant relationship between C. pneumoniae infection and triglycerides (P = 0.167), cholesterol (P = 0.574), LDL (P = 0.228), and HDL (P = 0.723) in healthy people. Furthermore, no significant relationship was observed between C. pneumoniae infection and cholesterol (P = 0.647), LDL (P = 0.068), and HDL (P = 0.782) regarding the analysis of C. pneumoniae infection on serum lipid profile in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, our study showed a significant change of triglycerides (P = 0.014) in patients with CAD. C. pneumoniae infection is positively associated with dyslipidemia in patients with CAD. C. pneumoniae infection is associated with higher triglycerides in patients; nevertheless, this association must be confirmed by prospective studies.