Systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between mumps during childhood and risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between mumps and risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Literature searches were conducted using Medline, EMBASE and Web of Science including studies published before February 2014. Crude and, where available, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted from the published reports of each included study. Combined OR estimates and tests of heterogeneity were obtained using meta-analysis techniques. The analysis was repeated in subgroups of studies on the basis of quality defined by the score on the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). In total, 18 articles met the eligibility criteria, and overall there was some evidence of a weak association between clinically diagnosed mumps and T1DM (OR=1.23, 95% CI 1.00-1.51; p=0.05) but marked heterogeneity between studies (I2=49%; p for heterogeneity=0.01). Restricting analyses to 13 high quality studies, there was little evidence of association between clinically diagnosed mumps and T1DM (OR=1.11, 95% CI 0.91-1.35; p=0.29) and there was much less heterogeneity (I2=26%; p for heterogeneity=0.18). Overall there was little evidence of any strong association between mumps infection and T1DM.