STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study involving five hundred and ninety-six women was recruited over a 1-year duration from 15th January 2018 until 14th January 2019 in a tertiary referral center, in Malaysia. Pap smears were performed on all consented pregnant women using liquid-based cytology and the results were obtained to evaluate the prevalence of abnormal Pap smear during pregnancy. Maternal risk factors associated with abnormal Pap smear were identified and the outcomes of abnormal Pap smear were followed up.

RESULTS: A total of 670 participants were approached and 596 participants agreed to participate, giving a response rate of 89.0 %. Therefore, 587 participants were available for analysis. There were nine unsatisfactory smears (1.5 %). The prevalence of premalignant lesions reported on p % ap smear was 0.8 %. Three respondents had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) (0.5 %) and two respondents had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) (0.3 %). Almost one-third (30.3 %) of respondents had an infection and 24 (4.1 %) smears were reported as reactive changes associated with inflammation. Respondents between the age of 20-30 years old had a significant association with an abnormal pre-cancerous smear (p = 0.000) as well as nulliparity (p = 0.0.40). There was no significant association between height, weight, BMI, sexual partner, age of first intercourse, smoking habit, history of sexually transmitted disease and history of abnormal Pap smear.

METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that reported the global prevalence of gallstones in pregnancy was conducted. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were searched for studies published up to September 2022.

RESULTS: In a review of 31 studies with a sample size of 190,714 people, the I2 heterogeneity test showed high heterogeneity (I2 = 98.8%). Therefore, the random effects method was used to analyze the results. The prevalence of gallstones was reported as 3.6% (95% CI: 1.9-6.7%). The highest prevalence of gallstones by continent was reported in America, at 6.8% (95% CI: 4.2-10.8%). The Egger test showed no evidence of publication bias (p = 0.609).