Méthot DB, et al. - In this meta-analysis of 18 case-control studies including 3,206 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and 9,368 control participants, researchers examined link between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and IPF, with special reference to the methodologic quality of the observational studies. Eligible observational studies (cohort and case-control studies) were selected from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Ovid, and Web of Science (1966-May 2018) databases, which allowed the calculation of a measure of association relating GERD to IPF. The investigators noted a link between GERD and IPF, which continued to be consistent irrespective of data source (clinical studies vs databases) or the type of control participant (healthy volunteers, patients with respiratory diseases other than interstitial lung disease, or patients with non-IPF interstitial lung disease). They concluded that there may be an association between GERD and IPF, but this link was most likely confounded, especially by smoking.