Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26310262›Full record

SynthesisHeart (British Cardiac Society)2015

Acute myocardial infarction and influenza: a meta-analysis of case-control studies.

Michelle Barnes, Anita E Heywood, Abela Mahimbo, Bayzid Rahman, Anthony T Newall, C Raina Macintyre

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Heart (British Cardiac Society), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 158 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
158citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
12.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

158 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 306 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The risk of cardiac disease events after respiratory syncytial virus disease: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review

98 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Michelle BarnesSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Anita E HeywoodSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Abela MahimboSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Bayzid RahmanSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Anthony T NewallSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
C Raina MacintyreSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
UNSW Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAcute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of death and disability globally. There is increasing evidence from observational studies that influenza infection is associated with AMI. In patients with known coronary disease, influenza vaccination is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events. However, the effect of influenza vaccination on incident AMI across the entire population is less well established.

methodThe purpose of our systematic review of case-control studies is twofold: (1) to estimate the association between influenza infection and AMI and (2) to estimate the association between influenza vaccination and AMI. Cases included those conducted with first-time AMI or any AMI cases. Studies were appraised for quality and meta-analyses using random effects models for the influenza exposures of infection, and vaccination were conducted.

results16 studies (8 on influenza vaccination, 10 on influenza infection and AMI) met the eligibility criteria, and were included in the review and meta-analysis. Recent influenza infection, influenza-like illness or respiratory tract infection was significantly more likely in AMI cases, with a pooled OR 2.01 (95% CI 1.47 to 2.76). Influenza vaccination was significantly associated with AMI, with a pooled OR of 0.71 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.91), equating to an estimated vaccine effectiveness of 29% (95% CI 9% to 44%) against AMI.

conclusionsOur meta-analysis of case-control studies found a significant association between recent respiratory infection and AMI. The estimated vaccine effectiveness against AMI was comparable with the efficacy of currently accepted therapies for secondary prevention of AMI from clinical trial data. A large-scale randomised controlled trial is needed to provide robust evidence of the protective effect of influenza vaccination on AMI, including as primary prevention.

Indexed as

Influenza, HumanMyocardial InfarctionCase-Control StudiesHumansInfluenza VaccinesOutcome Assessment, Health CarePreventive MedicineRisk AssessmentInfluenza Vaccines

Identifiers

PMID26310262
PMCPMC4680124
OpenAlexW2113138164

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.