METHODS: The electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were systematically searched for studies reporting the prevalence of constipation in older adults up to February 2022. To perform the analysis, the random effects model was used, and heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran's Q test and expressed as I2.
RESULTS: Out of 5341 evaluated publications, 36 met the eligibility criteria. These studies included 58,405 older adults aged 60-93 years. The overall prevalence of constipation in older adults was 18.9% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 14.7-23.9%). The prevalence of constipation in older adults according to Rome II criteria was 16.2% (95% CI: 6.8-33.7), based on Rome III criteria was 19.2% (95% CI: 12.6-28.1), and based on Rome IV criteria was 10.3% (95% CI: 5.8-17.7). The highest prevalence of constipation was found in older adults in Africa at 32.3% (95% CI: 21.5-45.4), and the lowest in Asia at 13.6% (95% CI: 9.1-19.9). Concerning diagnostic tools, the highest prevalence of constipation was found if a self-reporting tool was applied with a value of 19.7% (95% CI: 15.8-24.3).
CONCLUSION: The results suggest that health policymakers should pay more attention to the prevention of constipation in older adults, including raising public awareness to the importance of nutrition and diet and physical activity in older adults.
METHODS: In this study, systematic review and meta-analysis of information of the studies related to the prevalence of HCV in the world using keywords including: Prevalence, HCV, Hepatitis C, Healthy Population, Healthy subjects, and General Population in SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, ScienceDirect, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science (WoS) databases and Google Scholar search engine were extracted without time limit until April 2020. In order to perform the analysis of qualified studies, the model of random effects was used, and the inconsistency of studies with I2 index was investigated. Data analysis was performed with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (Version 2).
RESULTS: In a study of 98 studies with a total sample size of 236,964 people in the world, the overall prevalence of HCV was 1.8% (95% CI: 1.4%-2.3%). Also, according to the subgroup analysis in different continents; the highest prevalence of HCV in the African continent was 7.1% (95% CI: 4.4-11.5%).
CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the prevalence of hepatitis C in the world's population, especially in Africa, is almost high. Therefore, the officials of the World Health Organization should design measures to prevent the spread of this infection.
METHODS: A dataset containing medical records of 809 patients suspected to suffer from ACS was used. For each subject, 266 clinical factors were collected. At first, a feature selection was performed based on interviews with 20 cardiologists; thereby 40 seminal features for classifying ACS were selected. Next, a feature selection algorithm was also applied to detect a subset of the features with the best classification accuracy. As a result, the feature numbers considerably reduced to only seven. Lastly, based on the seven selected features, eight various common pattern recognition tools for classification of ACS were used.
RESULTS: The performance of the aforementioned classifiers was compared based on their accuracy computed from their confusion matrices. Among these methods, the multi-layer perceptron showed the best performance with the 83.2% accuracy.
CONCLUSION: The results reveal that an integrated AI-based feature selection and classification approach is an effective method for the early and accurate classification of ACS and ultimately a timely diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
METHOD: This review study extracted information through searching national and international databases of SID،, Embase, ScienceDirect, ، Scopus, ، PubMed, Web of Science (ISI) between 2003 and January 2020. To perform the meta-analysis, random-effects model and heterogeneity of the studies with I2 index were investigated. Data were sanalysed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 2.
RESULTS: In total, 26 articles with a sample size of 600 individuals were enrolled in the meta-analysis. According to the results of the study, the mean level of β-hCG was 28,744.98 ± 4425.1 mIU/ml before the intervention and was 23,836.78 ± 4533.1 mIU/ml after the intervention. The mean intraoperative blood loss (ml) was 4.8 ± 3.76 ml, mean hospital stay (days) was 11.7 ± 1.2 days, mean time for serum-hCG normalization (days) was 41.6 ± 3.2 days, success was 90.7% (95% CI: 86.7-93.5%), and complication was 9% (95% CI: 6.3-12.8%).
CONCLUSION: The results of the current study show methotrexate significantly reduces β-hCG levels and can be effective in treating caesarean scar pregnancy and its complications.
STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
METHODS: This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines on August 8, 2022. To conduct the systematic review and meta-analysis, a search was performed using the keywords "urinary tract system", "UTI", "pregnancy", and "gestation" was performed in several databases, including Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Embase, and Google Scholar, without a time limit until September 18, 2022. The analysis was performed using a random-effects model, and the heterogeneity of the studies was assessed using the I2 index. The Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 2) was used for data analysis.
RESULTS: The systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 studies, which included a total of 30,641 pregnant women, showed an overall prevalence of UTI (both symptomatic and asymptomatic) to be 23.9% (95% confidence interval: 16.2-33.8). Meta-regression analysis was conducted to examine the impact of two factors, namely study sample size and study year, on the heterogeneity of the meta-analysis. The results revealed that an increase in sample size, and the study year was associated with a decrease in the prevalence of UTI in pregnant women (P
METHODS: In this review study, searching national and international databases of SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Google Scholar, Embase, ScienceDirect, Scopus, CINHAL, PubMed, and Web of Science (WoS) between 2005 and February 2020 were extracted. The random-effects model was used for analysis, and the heterogeneity of studies with the I2 index was investigated. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (Version 2).
RESULTS: The frequency of moral distress in 9 articles with a sample size of 1576 persons was 1.7 ± 0.5 from (0-4), in 13 articles with a sample size of 1870 persons, 3.07 ± 0.1 from (0-5), in 6 articles with a sample size of 1316 persons, 3.2 ± 0.29 from (0-6), in 18 articles with a sample size of 1959 persons, 4.6 ± 0.518 from (1-7) and in 35 articles with a sample size of 3718 persons, 81.1 ± 4.6 from (216-30), and the severity of moral distress in 4 articles with a sample size of 1116 persons, 1.7 ± 0.37 from (0-4), in 5 articles with a sample size of 1282 persons, 2.6 ± 0.28 from (0-5), in 5 articles with a sample size of 944 persons, 3.9 ± 0.63 from (0-6) and in 8 articles with a sample size of 901 persons was 82.3 ± 5.4 (0-216).
CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the frequency and severity of moral distress in nurses are high and are a serious problem in nurses. Therefore, policymakers in this field should consider its role in the health of nurses and patients.
METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis study involved a comprehensive search of several databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, SID, and Google Scholar, focusing on cross-sectional studies that examined the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection in Iranian children. The identified studies were entered into the EndNote software for review. The quality of observational studies was evaluated using the STROBE checklist. The information extracted from the studies was entered into the Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA, Version 2) software. Heterogeneity among the studies was analyzed using the I2 test, and publication bias was assessed using the Egger test and funnel plot.
RESULTS: A total of 51 studies, with a sample size of 46,070 children, were included in the review. Using the random effects method, the overall prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among children in Iran was determined to be 6.7% (95%CI: 5.2-8.6). The review of the factors affecting study heterogeneity and sample size indicated that as sample size increased, the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among children in Iran also increased (p = 0.578). Additionally, with an increase in the year of conducting the studies, the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among children in Iran decreased (p
METHOD: The electronic database such as Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, SID, PubMed, Google Scholar, Mag Iran, and IranDoc were systematically searched for studies reporting the prevalence of major depressive disorderin the elderly published up to March 2021. Meta-analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. Heterogeneity between the studies was evaluated using the I2 index. Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation test was used to assess publication bias.
RESULT: A total of 20 studies involving 18953 participants were included in this study. The global prevalence of major depression in the elderly was 13.3 % (95 % CI: 8.4-20.3 %). In the subgroup analysis, the prevalence of major depression in elderly women was 11.9 % (95 % CI: 7.6-18.6) and men 9.7 % (95 % CI: 5.2-17.3). No comparison was made between the two sexes, but based on the confidence intervals and large overlap, the two groups are not statistically different. Among continents, Australia had the highest prevalence of major depression in the elderly at 20.1 % (CI: 14.5-27.2 %). This was followed by Europe at 12.9 % (95 % CI: 5.1-28.9 %).
CONCLUSION: Major depressive disorder has a growing trend in the elderly population of the world. The prevalence of major depression in the elderly depends on various clinical and demographic factors such as age and gender. Therefore, mental health and the quality of life (QoL) of the elderly are important. The present study emphasizes the importance of social support in mental health that can reduce depression in the elderly.
METHODS: According to the PRISMA 2009 multi-step instructions, keywords related to the purpose of the research were browsed in the MeSH browser databases; IranDoc, MagIran, IranMedex, SID, ScienceDirect, Web of Science (WoS), ProQuest, Medline (PubMed), Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched to extract articles published in Persian and English language. The search process for retrieving the articles in the sources mentioned from January 01, 2000, to December 30, 2020, was done. The heterogeneity index of the studies was determined using the I2 test. Given the heterogeneity, the random-effects model was used to combine the articles and the results.
RESULTS: Initially, 7067 articles were found, but after removing duplicate and irrelevant articles, 96 clinical trials with a sample size of the intervention group of 1760 people were included in the study. As a result of the articles' composition, the mean balance score index after exercise in the intervention group showed a significant increase of 0.67 ± 0.12 of the unit (P˂0.01). The highest rate of increase in the balance score after the intervention was reported in patients with myelomeningocele with 1.66 ± 0.3 unit (P˂0.01).
CONCLUSION: Considering the positive effect of using exercise on increasing the balance in patients with stroke, Parkinson, and multiple sclerosis, it is recommended that health care providers implement a regular exercise program to improve the condition of these patients.
METHODS: Various databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and ScienceDirect) along with Google Scholar search engine were hired for systematic searching in the field of the prevalence of FSD (by July 2022). The heterogeneity of the studies was assessed using I2 index, and random effects model was used to perform the analysis (CMA software, v.2).
RESULTS: Following assessment of 14 included studies with the sample size of 2115 women, a total prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) in women with MS was reported 62.5% (95% CI 53.9-70.5). Meta-regression assessment also showed that FSD accelerates following increasing the sample size and the year of the studies.
CONCLUSION: The total prevalence of SD in women with MS was found considerably high (62.5%) in the world, which needs more serious attention by health policymakers. Correct implementation of health policies can potentially increase the society's awareness and successful treatment of SD in MS patients.
METHODS: Research studies were extracted from IranDoc, MagIran, IranMedex, SID, ScienceDirect, Web of Sciences (WoS), ProQuest, Medline (PubMed), Scopus and Google Scholar based on Cochran's seven-step guidelines using existing keywords extracted in MeSH browser. The I2 test was used to calculate the heterogeneity of studies, and Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation tests were used to assess publication bias. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 2).
RESULTS: In the search for descriptive studies based on the research question, 7374 articles were found. After deleting articles unrelated to the research question, finally, 63 articles with a sample size of 1,206,961,907 people were included in the meta-analysis. The prevalence of MG worldwide was estimated to be 12.4 people (95% CI 10.6-14.5) per 100,000 population. For analytical studies on the effectiveness of common myasthenia gravis drugs, 4672 articles were found initially, and after removing articles unrelated to the research question, finally, 20 articles with a sample size of 643 people in the drug group and 619 people in the placebo group were included in the study. As a result of the combination of studies, the difference between the mean QMGS score index after taking Mycophenolate and Immunoglobulin or plasma exchange drugs in the group of patients showed a significant decrease of 1.4 ± 0.77 and 0.62 ± 0.28, respectively (P < 0.01).
CONCLUSION: The results of systematic review of drug evaluation in patients with myasthenia gravis showed that Mycophenolate and Immunoglobulin or plasma exchange drugs have positive effects in the treatment of MG. It also represents the positive effect of immunoglobulin or plasma exchange on reducing SFEMG index and QMGS index and the positive effect of Mycophenolate in reducing MG-ADL index, SFEMG and Anti-AChR antibodies index. In addition, based on a meta-analysis of the random-effect model, the overall prevalence of MG in the world is 12.4 people per 100,000 population, which indicates the urgent need for attention to this disease for prevention and treatment.
METHODS: In this study, systematic review and meta-analysis have been conducted on the previous studies focused on the prevalence of the Dupuytren disease. The search keywords were Prevalence, Prevalent, Epidemiology, Dupuytren Contracture, Dupuytren and Incidence. Subsequently, SID, MagIran, ScienceDirect, Embase, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases and Google Scholar search engine were searched without a lower time limit and until June 2020. In order to analyse reliable studies, the stochastic effects model was used and the I2 index was applied to test the heterogeneity of the selected studies. Data analysis was performed within the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software version 2.0.
RESULTS: By evaluating 85 studies (10 in Asia, 56 in Europe, 2 in Africa and 17 studies in America) with a total sample size of 6628506 individuals, the prevalence of Dupuytren disease in the world is found as 8.2% (95% CI 5.7-11.7%). The highest prevalence rate is reported in Africa with 17.2% (95% CI 13-22.3%). According to the subgroup analysis, in terms of underlying diseases, the highest prevalence was obtained in patients with type 1 diabetes with 34.1% (95% CI 25-44.6%). The results of meta-regression revealed a decreasing trend in the prevalence of Dupuytren disease by increasing the sample size and the research year (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the prevalence of Dupuytren disease is particularly higher in alcoholic patients with diabetes. Therefore, the officials of the World Health Organization should design measures for the prevention and treatment of this disease.
METHOD: The current systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out using Cochrane seven-step procedure. After determining the research question and inclusion and exclusion criteria, the MagIran, SID, ScienceDirect, WoS, ProQuest, Medline (PubMed), Embase, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched to find relevant studies using defined keywords and all possible keyword combinations using the AND and OR, with no time limit until 2021. The heterogeneity of studies was calculated using the I2 test, and the publication bias was investigated using the Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation test. Statistical analysis of data was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 2).
RESULTS: A total of 25 articles involving 901,598,055 people were included. The global prevalence of muscular dystrophy was estimated at 3.6 per 100,000 people (95 CI 2.8-4.5 per 100,000 people), the largest prevalence in the Americans at 5.1 per 100,000 people (95 CI 3.4-7.8 per 100,000 people). According to the subgroup analysis, the prevalence of DMD and BMD was estimated at 4.8 per 100,000 people (95 CI 3.6-6.3 per 100,000 people) and 1.6 per 100,000 people (95 CI 1.1-2.4 per 100,000 people), respectively.
CONCLUSION: Knowing the precise prevalence of a genetic disorder helps to more accurately predict the likelihood of preventing its occurrence in families. The global prevalence of DMD and BMD was very high, indicating the urgent need for more attention to prenatal screening and genetic counseling for families with a positive history.
METHODS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, articles that have focused on prevalence of osteoporosis in the world's elders were searched with these key words, such as Prevalence, Osteoporosis, Elders, Older adult in the Science Direct, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science (WoS) databases and Google Scholar search engine, and extracted without time limit until March 2020 and transferred to information management software (EndNote). Then, duplicate studies were eliminated and the remaining studies were evaluated in terms of screening, competence and qualitative evaluation based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data analysis was performed with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 2) and Begg and Mazumdar test was used to check the publication bias and I2 test was used to check the heterogeneity.
RESULTS: In a review of 40 studies (31 studies related to Asia, 5 studies related to Europe and 4 studies related to America) with a total sample size of 79,127 people, the prevalence of osteoporosis in the elders of the world; 21.7% (95% confidence interval: 18.8-25%) and the overall prevalence of osteoporosis in older men and women in the world, 35.3% (95% confidence interval: 27.9-43.4%), 12.5% (95% confidence interval: 9.3-16.7%) was reported. Also, the highest prevalence of osteoporosis in the elders was reported in Asia with; 24.3% (95% confidence interval: 20.9-28.1%).
CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that the prevalence of osteoporosis in the elders and especially elders' women is very high. Osteoporosis was once thought to be an inseparable part of elders' lives. Nowadays, Osteoporosis can be prevented due to significant scientific advances in its causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Regarding the growing number of elderly people in the world, it is necessary for health policy-makers to think of measures to prevent and treat osteoporosis among the elders.
METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with the PRISMA criteria. The PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Magiran, and Google Scholar databases were searched with no lower time limit up till 26 August 2020. The heterogeneity of the studies was measured using the I2 test, and the publication bias was assessed by the Begg and Mazumdar's test at the significance level of 0.1.
RESULTS: After following the systematic review processes, 86 studies were selected for meta-analysis. The sample size of the study was 103,334,579 people in the age range of 15-105 years. Using meta-analysis, the prevalence of osteoporosis in the world was reported to be 18.3 (95% CI 16.2-20.7). Based on 70 studies and sample size of 800,457 women, and heterogenicity I2: 99.8, the prevalence of osteoporosis in women of the world was reported to be 23.1 (95% CI 19.8-26.9), while the prevalence of osteoporosis among men of the world was found to be 11.7 (95% CI 9.6-14.1 which was based on 40 studies and sample size of 453,964 men.). The highest prevalence of osteoporosis was reported in Africa with 39.5% (95% CI 22.3-59.7) and a sample size of 2989 people with the age range 18-95 years.
CONCLUSION: According to the medical, economic, and social burden of osteoporosis, providing a robust and comprehensive estimate of the prevalence of osteoporosis in the world can facilitate decisions in health system planning and policymaking, including an overview of the current and outlook for the future; provide the necessary facilities for the treatment of people with osteoporosis; reduce the severe risks that lead to death by preventing fractures; and, finally, monitor the overall state of osteoporosis in the world. This study is the first to report a structured review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of osteoporosis worldwide.
Methods: In this review study, data were extracted from national and international databases of SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Google Scholar, Cochrane, Embase, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science (WoS) with no time limit until January 2021. The random effects model was used for doing analysis and the I2 index was used for assessing the heterogeneity of studies. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (Version 2).
Results: The prevalence of C. albicans skin infection in patients with type 2 diabetes was 11.4% (95% CI: 8.9%-14.4%) in 13 reviewed articles with a sample size of 1348. Regarding the heterogeneity based on meta-regression, there was a significant difference between the effect of sample size (P
METHODS: The articles were extracted based on entry and exit criteria by searching the Cochrane (Embase), ScienceDirect databases. Scopus PubMed; And Web of Science (WoS), based on PRISMA 2009. To evaluate the studies, a 22-item STROBE checklist was selected and related items were used.
RESULTS: The probability of publication bias in reporting the results was examined by the Egger test (P = 0.891). The prevalence rate of gastrointestinal complaints in patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran in 10 studies was 52.3% (95% CI: 33.4-70.7%). The results of metargression showed a significant difference between the sample size and the prevalence of gastrointestinal complaints in patients with type 2 diabetes (P
METHODS: Anonymised data consisting of 44 independent predictor variables from 355 adults diagnosed with COVID-19, at a UK hospital, was manually extracted from electronic patient records for retrospective, case-control analysis. Primary outcomes included inpatient mortality, required ventilatory support, and duration of inpatient treatment. Pulmonary embolism sequala was the only secondary outcome. After balancing data, key variables were feature selected for each outcome using random forests. Predictive models were then learned and constructed using Bayesian networks.
RESULTS: The proposed probabilistic models were able to predict, using feature selected risk factors, the probability of the mentioned outcomes. Overall, our findings demonstrate reliable, multivariable, quantitative predictive models for four outcomes, which utilise readily available clinical information for COVID-19 adult inpatients. Further research is required to externally validate our models and demonstrate their utility as risk stratification and clinical decision-making tools.