Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the major public health problems both in developed and developing countries. Prison represents a high-risk environment for prisoners, in that it is characterized by high-risk behaviors such as injecting drug use (IDU), tattooing, unprotected sexu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masoud Behzadifar, Hasan Abolghasem Gorji, Aziz Rezapour, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2018-05-01
Series:Harm Reduction Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-018-0231-0
id doaj-4de82eb946ce43878adc8a2fd9537ca0
record_format Article
spelling doaj-4de82eb946ce43878adc8a2fd9537ca02020-11-24T22:19:08ZengBMCHarm Reduction Journal1477-75172018-05-011511910.1186/s12954-018-0231-0Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysisMasoud Behzadifar0Hasan Abolghasem Gorji1Aziz Rezapour2Nicola Luigi Bragazzi3Department of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical SciencesHealth Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical SciencesHealth Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Health Sciences (DISSAL), School of Public Health, University of GenoaAbstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the major public health problems both in developed and developing countries. Prison represents a high-risk environment for prisoners, in that it is characterized by high-risk behaviors such as injecting drug use (IDU), tattooing, unprotected sexual intercourses, or sharing syringes. The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the prevalence of HCV among Iranian prisoners conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods We searched different scholarly databases including Embase, PubMed/MEDLINE, ISI/Web of Sciences, the Cochrane library, Scopus, CINAHL, and PsycINFO as well as Iranian bibliographic thesauri (namely, Barakatns, MagIran, and SID) up to December 2017. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the studies included. HCV prevalence rate with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated using the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model, with Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation. Egger’s regression test was used to evaluate publication bias. Results Finally, 17 articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Overall, 18,693 prisoners were tested. Based on the random-effects model, the prevalence of HCV among Iranian prisoners was 28% (CI 95% 21–36) with heterogeneity of I 2 = 99.3% (p = 0.00). All studies used an ELISA test for the evaluation of HCV antibodies. The findings of this study showed that the highest prevalence rate (53%) was among prisoners who inject drugs. Conclusion The findings of our study showed that the prevalence of HCV among Iranian prisoners is dramatically high. Managing this issue in Iran’s prisons requires careful attention to the availability of health facilities and instruments, such as screening, and harm reduction policies, such as giving sterile syringes and needles to prisoners. An integrated program of training for prisoners, prison personnel and medical staff is also needed to improve the level of health condition in prisons.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-018-0231-0Hepatitis C virusPrevalencePrisonersIranMeta-analysisSystematic review
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Masoud Behzadifar
Hasan Abolghasem Gorji
Aziz Rezapour
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
spellingShingle Masoud Behzadifar
Hasan Abolghasem Gorji
Aziz Rezapour
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Harm Reduction Journal
Hepatitis C virus
Prevalence
Prisoners
Iran
Meta-analysis
Systematic review
author_facet Masoud Behzadifar
Hasan Abolghasem Gorji
Aziz Rezapour
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
author_sort Masoud Behzadifar
title Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among prisoners in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort prevalence of hepatitis c virus infection among prisoners in iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis
publisher BMC
series Harm Reduction Journal
issn 1477-7517
publishDate 2018-05-01
description Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the major public health problems both in developed and developing countries. Prison represents a high-risk environment for prisoners, in that it is characterized by high-risk behaviors such as injecting drug use (IDU), tattooing, unprotected sexual intercourses, or sharing syringes. The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the prevalence of HCV among Iranian prisoners conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods We searched different scholarly databases including Embase, PubMed/MEDLINE, ISI/Web of Sciences, the Cochrane library, Scopus, CINAHL, and PsycINFO as well as Iranian bibliographic thesauri (namely, Barakatns, MagIran, and SID) up to December 2017. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the studies included. HCV prevalence rate with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated using the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model, with Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation. Egger’s regression test was used to evaluate publication bias. Results Finally, 17 articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Overall, 18,693 prisoners were tested. Based on the random-effects model, the prevalence of HCV among Iranian prisoners was 28% (CI 95% 21–36) with heterogeneity of I 2 = 99.3% (p = 0.00). All studies used an ELISA test for the evaluation of HCV antibodies. The findings of this study showed that the highest prevalence rate (53%) was among prisoners who inject drugs. Conclusion The findings of our study showed that the prevalence of HCV among Iranian prisoners is dramatically high. Managing this issue in Iran’s prisons requires careful attention to the availability of health facilities and instruments, such as screening, and harm reduction policies, such as giving sterile syringes and needles to prisoners. An integrated program of training for prisoners, prison personnel and medical staff is also needed to improve the level of health condition in prisons.
topic Hepatitis C virus
Prevalence
Prisoners
Iran
Meta-analysis
Systematic review
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-018-0231-0
work_keys_str_mv AT masoudbehzadifar prevalenceofhepatitiscvirusinfectionamongprisonersiniranasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT hasanabolghasemgorji prevalenceofhepatitiscvirusinfectionamongprisonersiniranasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT azizrezapour prevalenceofhepatitiscvirusinfectionamongprisonersiniranasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT nicolaluigibragazzi prevalenceofhepatitiscvirusinfectionamongprisonersiniranasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
_version_ 1725779866221019136