Risk-of-bias assessment of human studies (clinical trials and observational cohorts) examining anti-infective drugs in relation to vascular ageing.
| Ref # | Study type | Drug/Class | Model/Population | Tools used | Key bias domains (summary) | Overall risk | Ageing effects (biomarkers) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [11] | Clinical | Antibiotics (mixed) | Patients with vascular disease (meta-analysis) | RoB-2 | Moderate heterogeneity; unclear blinding; limited reporting. | Some concerns | Mixed outcomes; no consistent biomarker tracking; some ↓ CRP and vascular inflammation. |
| [136] | Clinical | Azithromycin/Roxithromycin | Senescent fibroblasts (clinical translation) | RoB-2 | In vitro-clinical extrapolation; not randomized. | High | ↓ SA-β-gal+ cells; ↓ p16/p21 expression in fibroblast biopsies. |
| [65] | Clinical | Azithromycin | Cystic fibrosis patients | RoB-2 | Observational; small cohort; confounding not adjusted. | High | ↑ Senescence markers in airway cells (p16, p21, SA-β-gal); systemic spillover likely. |
| [66] | Clinical | Azithromycin (COVID-19) | COVID-19 patients | RoB-2 | Not randomized; strong confounding; small sample. | High | Theoretical ↓ SASP load proposed; not biomarker validated. |
| [67] | Clinical | Azithromycin | Women with endometriosis | RoB-2 | Randomization not reported; allocation concealment unclear. | Some concerns | ↓ Lesion progression; signals of ↓ senescence markers (p16, SA-β-gal) in tissue. |
| [61] | Clinical | VDA (Vit C, Doxycycline, Azithromycin) | Human adipose-derived MSCs | RoB-2 | Ex vivo/MSC work; randomization unclear. | High | ↓ Senescence gene expression (p16, p21, SASP mediators) in MSCs. |
| [62] | Clinical | Doxycycline | Endothelial cells from ethanol-exposed humans | RoB-2 | Small cohorts; observational; incomplete adjustment. | Some concerns | ↓ Inflammageing markers (IL-6, TNF-α); partial ↓ p16/p21 signals in endothelial cells. |
| [73] | Clinical | ART (Efavirenz/Zidovudine) | HIV+ patients under ART | ROBINS-I | Observational; confounding by indication; attrition bias. | Some concerns | ↑ ROS, mitochondrial dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction; no direct senescence markers. |
| [109] | Clinical | Protease inhibitors | HIV+ patients | RoB-2 | Observational; moderate confounding; incomplete reporting. | Some concerns | ↑ Senescence phenotype (reversible); mitochondrial dysfunction. |
| [111] | Clinical | Protease inhibitors | HIV+ patients (vascular biopsies) | RoB-2 | Non-randomized; mechanistic endpoints limited. | High | ↑ Prelamin A accumulation; ↑ p16/p21; premature vascular senescence. |
| [112] | Clinical | Viral therapy context | HIV/Viral infections (review translational) | Narrative | Not interventional; observational extrapolation. | Some concerns | ↑ Senescence in the viral infection context; drug exposure exacerbates markers. |
| [114] | Clinical | HAART | HIV+ patient endothelial cells | RoB-2 | Observational; incomplete adjustment; confounding. | High | ↑ Oxidative stress; ↑ endothelial senescence; ↑ monocyte adhesion. |
| [113] | Clinical | Antivirals | Endothelial cells from patients | RoB-2 | High-content imaging assays; small cohorts. | Some concerns | Distinct ↑ senescence signatures across drugs; drug-specific biomarker profiles. |
| [135] | Clinical | Niclosamide | Ageing/Frailty patients (clinical models) | RoB-2 | Early-stage; randomization not clear; limited duration. | Some concerns | ↓ mTORC1 hyperactivation; ↓ frailty index; no direct p16/p21/SA-β-gal measured. |
| [105] | Human genomic analysis/observational mechanistic study | Ganciclovir (antiviral nucleoside analog) | Hematopoietic stem & progenitor cells (HSPCs) from HSCT recipients (n = 12 recipients; 15 expanded clones). Donors = matched controls | ROBINS-I | Selection bias: moderate (recipients selected based on post-transplant samples).Confounding: moderate (immunosuppression, CMV infection, other antivirals).Detection bias: low (whole-genome sequencing, validated pipelines).Reporting bias: low (complete genomic datasets shared).Attrition bias: low (all sequenced samples included). | Moderate | Significant increase in somatic mutation load in recipients exposed to ganciclovir.Mutation burden increased 3–6-fold vs. non-exposed donor HSPCs.Distinct antiviral-associated mutational signature (“Signature GX”) identified.Mutations enriched in T>A and C>A substitutions, consistent with nucleoside-analog misincorporation.Same signature observed in therapy-related cancers in transplant recipients.It indicates genomic instability, a hallmark of aging. |
| [79] | Clinical | Microbiome-ageing/antibiotic exposure | Human gut microbiome cohorts | ROBINS-I | Observational; confounding not excluded; no specific antibiotics mentioned. | Some concerns | ↑ Inflammageing: altered microbiome linked to ↑ systemic senescence load. |
| [50] | Clinical | Microbiome-sarcopenia/nonspecific antibiotics | Ageing frail patients | ROBINS-I | Observational; small cohorts/antibiotics were used, but no specific class was mentioned. | Some concerns | ↑ Frailty; ↓ muscle mass; inflammageing. |
| [58] | Clinical | Antibiotic exposure | Dysbiosis in the human gut | ROBINS-I | Observational; no blinding. | High | ↑ Dysbiosis; ↑ pro-inflammatory tone; indirect vascular ageing. |
| [59] | Clinical | Antibiotics/Antiviral drugs (nonspecific) | Elderly patients with bacterial infections | ROBINS-I | Observational; moderate confounding. | Some concerns | ↑ Susceptibility to infection; ↑ SASP cytokines; ↑ vascular inflammation. |
| [49] | Clinical | Gut microbiome dysbiosis | CKD patients | ROBINS-I | Observational; no blinding; dietary confounding. | Some concerns | ↑ TMAO; ↑ oxidative stress; ↑ arterial stiffness. |
| [75] | Clinical | Microbiome/CKD | CKD patients | ROBINS-I | Observational; dietary confounding. | Some concerns | ↑ TMAO; ↑ endothelial dysfunction. |
| [69] | Clinical | TMAO/Nonspecific antibiotic | Human cohorts | ROBINS-I | Observational; dietary confounding and lack of mention of the employed antibiotic. | Some concerns | ↑ TMAO associated with ↑ arterial stiffness, inflammaging. |
| [76] | Clinical | Broad spectrum antibiotics/microbiota metabolites | Human cohorts | ROBINS-I | Observational; no blinding. | Some concerns | ↑ SASP signaling; microbiota-derived metabolites drive vascular inflammation. |
| [104] | Clinical | miRNA mimics/inhibitors | COVID-19 patients | RoB-2 | Small trials; confounding; not blinded. | High | ↓ Viral-induced senescence signaling; ↓ cytokine storm; indirect vascular benefit. |
| [103] | Clinical | LncRNA antifungal | Patients with candidiasis (biopsy models) | RoB-2 | Translational; not blinded. | Some concerns | ↓ Fungal burden; ↓ inflammatory senescence response. |
| [108] | Clinical | Microbiome histone modification/antibiotic treatment | Human hepatology patients | ROBINS-I | Observational; confounding not excluded/exact antibiotic not mentioned. | Some concerns | Irreversible histone acetylation; independent of SCFA; links to epigenetic ageing. |
| [82] | Clinical | Antivirals | Viral infection patients | RoB-2 | Non-randomized; confounding. | High | ↑ Stress proteins; mitochondrial strain; senescence pathway engagement. |
| [143] | Clinical | Antivirals | HIV+ patients (old regimens) | ROBINS-I | Observational; incomplete adjustment. | Some concerns | ↑ Mitochondrial toxicity; ↑ oxidative stress; indirect senescence induction. |
| [127] | Clinical | Itraconazole | Endothelial cells from patients | RoB-2 | Mechanistic study; no blinding. | Some concerns | ↓ mTORC1 activation; ↓ angiogenesis; senescence-modulating pathway engaged. |
| [128] | Clinical | Itraconazole | Endothelial cells (clinical setting) | RoB-2 | Small cohorts; limited blinding. | Some concerns | ↓ VEGFR2 glycosylation; ↓ angiogenesis; possible senescence-modulating pathway. |
| [129] | Clinical | Itraconazole | Endothelial angiogenesis (patients) | RoB-2 | Observational, translational; confounding. | Some concerns | ↓ Angiogenesis; modulation of senescence pathways. |
| [131] | Clinical | Amphotericin B | Human endothelial cells | RoB-2 | Mechanistic; small sample. | Some concerns | ↑ ROS; mitochondrial dysfunction; senescence induction. |
| [20] | Retrospective cohort (observational) | Multiple systemic antibiotics (all classes aggregated) | 2,159,864 adults, age 40–79, Korea; 10-year follow-up | ROBINS-I | Confounding: Infection severity & comorbidities may influence antibiotic use; selection bias: possible immortal-time bias; exposure misclassification: antibiotic days aggregated, no dose/type specificity; outcome bias: relies on hospital records. | Moderate, serious | Long-term antibiotic exposure (≥ 365 days) increased CVD risk: aHR = 1.10 (95% CI 1.07–1.13). No direct vascular aging biomarkers measured; evidence suggests epidemiological association, not mechanistic aging effects. |
| [21] | Prospective cohort (children) | Systemic antibiotics (various classes) | 5-year-old children from the WHISTLER birth cohort (Netherlands) | ROBINS-I | Confounding (infections vs. antibiotic use)Exposure misclassification (prescription ≠ actual ingestion; no class/dose stratification).Outcomes limited to subclinical vascular markers (CIMT, distensibility).Loss to follow-up/selection bias (children with vascular measurements ≠ full cohort). | Moderate | ↑ CIMT: +18.1 µm (3-mo), +10.7 µm (6-mo).↓ Carotid distensibility: –8.3 mPa–1 (6-mo). |
| [145] | Human tissue observational + multiomics analysis | Maraviroc (CCR5 antagonist) | Human skeletal muscle from donors across the age spectrum | ROBINS-I | Tissue: skeletal muscle, not vascular tissue• Senescence mapping in muscle may not reflect vascular cell senescence.• Drug tested for senotherapeutic potential, but not in a vascular context.• Cross-sectional design (aging donors), observational, not longitudinal. | Moderate, high risk/indirect relevance | Identification of senescent cell populations; heterogenous SASP profiles; epigenomic alterations in aged muscle; evidence that blocking SASP-receptor interactions (via Maraviroc) can modulate senescence-associated pathology. |
| [100] | Clinical/Observational | Aminoglycosides (geneticin/G418, hygromycin B, streptomycin); rifamycin (rifampicin); β-lactams (amoxicillin, ampicillin, cefepime, cefuroxime) | Human-derived glioma cell lines and fibroblast | Narrative | In-vitro model; cancer cell lines; short exposure duration; no organism-level ageing outcomes; no randomisation/blinding applicable. | Moderate | ↑ Alpha satellite DNA transcription (1.5–3-fold); ↓ H3K9me3; ↑ H3K18ac → heterochromatin erosion, epigenetic drift, genome instability (aging hallmarks). |
RoB-2 was applied for interventional trials, and ROBINS-I for observational studies. Ageing biomarkers reported included SA-β-gal activity, p16/p21 expression, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, prelamin A accumulation, TMAO levels, and frailty indices (n = 36). ↑: increased/upregulated/elevated, ↓: decreased/downregulated/reduced. ART: antiretroviral therapy; CIMT: carotid intima-media thickness; HAART: highly active ART; ROS: reactive oxygen species; SASP: senescence-associated secretory phenotype; SCFA: short-chain fatty acid; TMAO: trimethylamine N-oxide; mTORC1: mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1.