SynthesisFrontiers in public health2025
No conclusive link between indoor fuel use and atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis with rigorous publication bias correction.
Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Environmental exposures and atopic dermatitis: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Household air pollution (HAP), primarily from the combustion of indoor fuels for cooking and heating, represents a major global public health challenge. Concurrently, the prevalence of atopic dermatitis is rising worldwide. However, epidemiological studies examining the association between indoor fuel use and the risk of AD have produced inconsistent findings. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the existing evidence and rigorously assess the potential impact of publication bias on this association. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library was conducted to identify observational studies assessing the association between indoor fuel use and AD risk. Odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic and Cochran's Q test. Publication bias was comprehensively assessed using funnel plot visualization and multiple statistical methods, including Egger's, Begg's, Peters', Deeks', Macaskill's, and Tang's tests. Sensitivity analyses and bias-correction procedures, including the trim-and-fill method and parametric selection models, were performed. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. Results: This analysis included 10 studies, comprising 21 independent effect sizes. The initial pooled analysis revealed a weak but statistically significant positive association between indoor fuel use and AD risk (pooled OR = 1.158, 95% CI [1.051, 1.276], Conclusion: After rigorous adjustment for publication bias, the available published evidence does not support the conclusion that indoor fuel use is an independent risk factor for atopic dermatitis. The weak association observed in the literature appears to be a statistical artifact, potentially influenced by systemic publication bias. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251083253, identifier (CRD420251083253).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.