Prevalence of epilepsy in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The literature from inception to 2020 on the prevalence of epilepsy in autistic individuals was systematically reviewed and further explored by subgroup analyses and meta-regression models. This systematic review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020179725). A total of 66 studies from 53 articles were included. The updated pooled prevalence of epilepsy in autistic individuals was 10% (95% CI: 6–14). The respective prevalence estimate of epilepsy was 19% (95% CI: 6–35) in the clinical sample-based cross-sectional study, 7% (95% CI: 3–11) in the cohort study, and 9% (95% CI: 5–15) in the population-based cross-sectional study. The pooled prevalence of epilepsy was 7% (95% CI: 4–11) in autistic children and 19% (95% CI: 14–24) in autistic adults. Compared to the school-aged group, the adolescence group (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06–1.25) and the pre-school group (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.94–1.19) were positively associated with the prevalence of epilepsy. The moderators of age, human development index of the country, gender, and intellectual function accounted for most of the heterogeneity. The prevalence estimates were associated with age, female gender, intellectual disability rate, and the human development index of countries. About 1/10 autistic individuals co-occurred with epilepsy, which was common in the clinical setting, adolescents, adults, females, or patients with intellectual disability, and less common in the country with high human development index. Lay abstract Autistic individuals experience higher co-occurring medical conditions than the general population, and yet the estimates of autistic individuals with epilepsy are not updated. Co-occurrence of epilepsy in autistic individuals often aggravated cognitive impairment and increased the risk of poor long-term prognosis. Thus, an updated systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to study the relevant articles published from inception to 2020, evaluate the prevalence of epilepsy in autistic individuals, and further explore the putative factors influencing the prevalence. A total of 66 studies from 53 articles were included in this study. The results showed that epilepsy is more common in autistic individuals than in the general population. The prevalence of epilepsy in autistic individuals in the clinical sample-based studies was higher than that in the population-based based cross-sectional or cohort studies. The prevalence of epilepsy in autistic adults was higher than that in autistic children. A significantly increased prevalence of epilepsy was detected in the autistic adolescent group (11–17 years old), and a higher trend of prevalence of epilepsy was observed in the autistic pre-school group (⩽ 6 -years-old) than that of the autistic school-aged group (7–10 years-old). The prevalence of epilepsy increased with age, female rate, and low intellectual function rate of autistic individuals. However, the human development index of countries was negatively associated with the pooled prevalence, which could be attributed to the different levels of awareness, diagnostic technologies, and autism-service support worldwide. About 1/10 autistic individuals also had epilepsy, which was common in the clinical setting, adolescents, adults, females, or patients with intellectual disability and less common in the country with high human development index. Thus, these findings provided critical and innovative views on the prevalence of epilepsy in autistic individuals and contributed to the targeted clinical management and preventive measures.

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Prevalence of Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma in the Last 20 Years: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Frontiers in Medicine ◽

10.3389/fmed.2020.624179 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Nan Zhang ◽

Jiaxing Wang ◽

Biyue Chen ◽

Ying Li ◽

Bing Jiang

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Population Based ◽

Angle Closure Glaucoma ◽

Angle Closure ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Primary Angle Closure ◽

Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma ◽

Pooled Prevalence

Purpose: This meta-analysis aims to investigate the worldwide prevalence of primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) and its risk factors in the last 20 years.Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 37 population-based studies and 144,354 subjects. PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for cross-sectional or cohort studies published in the last 20 years (2000–2020) that reported the prevalence of PACG. The prevalence of PACG was analyzed according to various risk factors. A random-effects model was used for the meta-analysis.Results: The global pooled prevalence of PACG was 0.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.5–0.8%] for the last 20 years. The prevalence of PACG increases with age. Men are found less likely to have PACG than women (risk ratio = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.53–0.93, p < 0.01). Asia is found to have the highest prevalence of PACG (0.7%, 95% CI = 0.6–1.0%). The current estimated population with PACG is 17.14 million (95% CI = 14.28–22.85) for people older than 40 years old worldwide, with 12.30 million (95% CI = 10.54–17.57) in Asia. It is estimated that by 2050, the global population with PACG will be 26.26 million, with 18.47 million in Asia.Conclusion: PACG affects more than 17 million people worldwide, especially leading a huge burden to Asia. The prevalence of PACG varies widely across different ages, sex, and population geographic variation. Asian, female sex, and age are risk factors of PACG.

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The prevalence of chronic pain with an analysis of countries with a Human Development Index less than 0.9: a systematic review without meta-analysis

Current Medical Research and Opinion ◽

10.1185/03007995.2012.703132 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (7) ◽

pp. 1221-1229 ◽

Cited By ~ 109

Author(s):

Raga A. Elzahaf ◽

Osama A. Tashani ◽

Biddy A. Unsworth ◽

Mark I. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Chronic Pain ◽

Human Development ◽

Human Development Index ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Development Index

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The Incidence of Stroke in Indigenous Populations of Countries With a Very High Human Development Index: A Systematic Review Protocol

Frontiers in Neurology ◽

10.3389/fneur.2021.661570 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Anna H. Balabanski ◽

Angela Dos Santos ◽

John A. Woods ◽

Amanda G. Thrift ◽

Timothy J. Kleinig ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Human Development ◽

Human Development Index ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Population Based ◽

Indigenous Populations ◽

Stroke Incidence ◽

Development Index ◽

Incidence Studies ◽

Very High

Background and Aims: Despite known Indigenous health and socioeconomic disadvantage in countries with a Very High Human Development Index, data on the incidence of stroke in these populations are sparse. With oversight from an Indigenous Advisory Board, we will undertake a systematic review of the incidence of stroke in Indigenous populations of developed countries or regions, with comparisons between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations of the same region, though not between different Indigenous populations.Methods: Using PubMed, OVID-EMBASE, and Global Health databases, we will examine population-based incidence studies of stroke in Indigenous adult populations of developed countries published 1990-current, without language restriction. Non-peer-reviewed sources, studies including <10 Indigenous People, or with insufficient data to determine incidence, will be excluded. Two reviewers will independently validate the search strategies, screen titles and abstracts, and record reasons for rejection. Relevant articles will undergo full-text screening, with standard data extracted for all studies included. Quality assessment will include Sudlow and Warlow's criteria for population-based stroke incidence studies, the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for risk of bias, and the CONSIDER checklist for Indigenous research.Results: Primary outcomes include crude, age-specific and/or age-standardized incidence of stroke. Secondary outcomes include overall stroke rates, incidence rate ratio and case-fatality. Results will be synthesized in figures and tables, describing data sources, populations, methodology, and findings. Within-population meta-analysis will be performed if, and where, methodologically sound and comparable studies allow this.Conclusion: We will undertake the first systematic review assessing disparities in stroke incidence in Indigenous populations of developed countries. Data outputs will be disseminated to relevant Indigenous stakeholders to inform public health and policy research.

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Impacts of human development index and climate conditions on prevalence of Blastocystis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Acta Tropica ◽

10.1016/j.actatropica.2018.05.014 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 185 ◽

pp. 193-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Ehsan Javanmard ◽

Maryam Niyyati ◽

Erfan Ghasemi ◽

Hamed Mirjalali ◽

Hamid Asadzadeh Aghdaei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Human Development ◽

Human Development Index ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Development Index

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Association between intra‐operative cardiac arrest and country Human Development Index status: a systematic review with meta‐regression analysis and meta‐analysis of observational studies *

Anaesthesia ◽

10.1111/anae.15374 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

L. G. Braz ◽

S. Einav ◽

M. A. Heesen ◽

M. Betini ◽

J. E. Corrente ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Cardiac Arrest ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Human Development ◽

Human Development Index ◽

Observational Studies ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Development Index ◽

Meta Regression ◽

Meta Regression Analysis

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Prevalence of Depression among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10153406 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (15) ◽

pp. 3406

Author(s):

Beatriz Olaya ◽

María Pérez-Moreno ◽

Juan Bueno-Notivol ◽

Patricia Gracia-García ◽

Isabel Lasheras ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Medical Doctors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Random Effects Models ◽

Pooled Prevalence ◽

Prevalence Of Depression ◽

Common Mental Health Problems

Background: There is evidence of a high psychological toll from the COVID-19 pandemic in healthcare workers. This paper was aimed at conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting levels of depression among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 and estimating the pooled prevalence of depression. Methods: We searched for cross-sectional studies listed on PubMed from 1 December 2019 to 15 September 2020 that reported prevalence of depression in healthcare workers, nurses, medical doctors, and COVID-19 frontline professionals. The pooled proportions of depression were calculated with random effects models. Results: We identified 57 studies from seventeen countries. The pooled prevalence of depression in healthcare workers was 24% (95% CI: 20%−28%), 25% for nurses (95% CI: 18%−33%), 24% for medical doctors (95% CI: 16%−31%), and 43% for frontline professionals (95% CI: 28%−59%). Conclusions: The proportion of depression in nurses and medical doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic was similar to that found in the general population as previously reported in other meta-analyses conducted with smaller numbers of studies. Importantly, almost half of the frontline healthcare workers showed increased levels of depression. There is need for a comprehensive, international response to prevent and treat common mental health problems in healthcare workers.

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Clostridium difficile infection in low- and middle-human development index countries: a systematic review

Tropical Medicine & International Health ◽

10.1111/tmi.12937 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (10) ◽

pp. 1223-1232 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Joseph D. Forrester ◽

Lawrence Z. Cai ◽

Chenesa Mbanje ◽

Tanya N. Rinderknecht ◽

Sherry M. Wren

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Human Development ◽

Clostridium Difficile Infection ◽

Human Development Index ◽

Development Index

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Prevalence of smoking in adults with spinal cord stimulators: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine ◽

10.1136/rapm-2019-100996 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 214-218

Author(s):

W Michael Hooten ◽

Rajat N Moman ◽

Jodie Dvorkin ◽

E Morgan Pollard ◽

Robalee Wonderman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Spinal Cord ◽

Smoking Status ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Vascular Diseases ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Future Research ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Prevalence Studies ◽

Pooled Prevalence

BackgroundSmoking adversely impacts pain-related outcomes of spinal cord stimulation (SCS). However, the proportion of SCS patients at risk of worse outcomes is limited by an incomplete knowledge of smoking prevalence in this population. Thus, the primary aim of this systematic review is to determine the prevalence of smoking in adults with chronic pain treated with SCS.MethodsA comprehensive search of databases from 1 January 1980 to 3 January 2019 was conducted. Eligible study designs included (1) randomized trials; (2) prospective and retrospective cohort studies; and (3) cross-sectional studies. The risk of bias was assessed using a tool specifically developed for prevalence studies. A total of 1619 records were screened, 19 studies met inclusion criteria, and the total number of participants was 10 838.ResultsThirteen studies had low or moderate risk of bias, and six had a high risk of bias. All 19 studies reported smoking status and the pooled prevalence was 38% (95% CI 30% to 47%). The pooled prevalence in 6 studies of peripheral vascular diseases was 56% (95% CI 42% to 69%), the pooled prevalence of smoking in 11 studies of lumbar spine diagnoses was 28% (95% CI 20% to 36%) and the pooled prevalence in 2 studies of refractory angina was 44% (95% CI 31% to 58%).ConclusionsThe estimated prevalence of smoking in SCS patients is 2.5 times greater than the general population. Future research should focus on development, testing and deployment of tailored smoking cessation treatments for SCS patients.

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