ABSTRACT
Background: Toxoplasmosis is a great public health concern due to its capacity for prenatal transmission. Serologic studies have reported various estimates for seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among Iranian pregnant women. Estimation of the pooled prevalence of this infection is necessary for policy-making.
Aims: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Iranian pregnant women using systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods: We searched national and international databases to identify relevant studies. To enhance the search sensitivity, we evaluated all references and interviewed relevant researchers and research centres. The final studies for meta-analysis were selected according to the quality assessment as well as inclusion/exclusion criteria. Because of the heterogeneity of the primary results, random effects models were used to estimate the pooled prevalence of T. gondii. We included 43 studies with a total sample size of 22 644 in the meta-analysis.
Results: The pooled seroprevalence of overall toxoplasma infection, IgG antibody and IgM antibody was estimated at 41.3% [95% CI: 35.846.8], 39.2% [95% CI: 33.345.1] and 4.0% [95% CI: 3.14.9] respectively.
Conclusions: Our study showed that a considerable proportion of Iranian pregnant women are at high risk for toxoplasmosis.
Subject(s)
Humans , Women , Pregnant Women , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Prevalence , Meta-Analysis as TopicABSTRACT
Background: Seroepidemiologic studies indicate a high prevalence of herpes simplex virus [HSV] infection. This infection leads to ophthalmic, dermatologic, oral, neurologic, vaginal and cervical problems. Different studies have been carried out to estimate the HSV seroprevalence in Iran. Combining the results of these studies would be useful for health policy-making
Objective: This study aims to estimate the pooled prevalence of HSV infection using meta-analysis
Materials and Methods: Using relevant keywords, national and international data banks were searched. Restricting the search strategy, excluding duplicates and investigating the titles and abstracts, relevant articles were identified
To increase the search sensitivity, the lists of references were investigated. To find un-published studies, specialized experts as well as research centers were interviewed
The heterogeneity between the results was assessed using Cochrane test and I-squared indicator
The pooled prevalence of HSV infection was estimated using random effects model
Results: We recruited 33 eligible papers investigated 7762 individuals
The total prevalences [95% confidence intervals] of HSV1, HSV2 and HSV infections were estimated as of 42.04% [20.9-63.1], 6.5% [4.7-8.2] and 25.7% [8.8-42.5] respectively
Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that the HSV2 seroprevalence among Iranian people is considerably lower than HSV1 infection