Epidemiological Prevalence of Pediculosis and its Influencing Factors in Iranian Schools: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Published: February 1, 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2020/43085.13472
Malihe Sohrabivafa, Elham Goodarzi, Victoria Momenabadi
, Maryam Seraji ,Hasan Naemi, Elham Nejadsadeghi, Zaher Khazaei
1. MSc in Health Promotion, Department of Public Health, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful, Iran.
2. MSc in Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
3. PhD in Health Education and Promotion, Department of Public Health, School of Health, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran.
4. Assistant Professor, Health Education and Health Promotion, Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
5. University Instructor, Iranian Research Center on Healthy Aging, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran.
6. Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, Behbahan University of Medical Sciences, Behbahan, Iran.
7. MSc in Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
Correspondence
Mr. Zaher Khazaei,
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ilam University of Medical
Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
E-mail: ZaherKhazaei@gmail.com; Zaherkhazaei@yahoo.com
Introduction: Pediculosis is an endemic parasitic infestation in many countries of the world. Iran is one of the countries with a high rate of pediculosis.
Aim: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with pediculosis in primary school students of Iran.
Materials and Methods: The literature search was carried out by two researchers on national databases including: SID, Iranmedex, Magiran, Irandoc and international database including: Scopus, Pubmed and Web of Science to find relevant articles between 2000 and 2016. The search strategy was performed using keywords such as: "epidemiology", "prevalence", "infestation", "head louse", "head lice", "Pediculus humans capitis", "pediculosis", "primary school students", "primary students", "school children", and "Iran", as well as their Farsi equivalents. In this study, a random effects model and a fixed effect model were used. To test heterogeneity, the Q-Cochran test was used at an error level of less than 10% and the quantity was estimated by I2. The Begg Rank Correlation Test and Eggers Regression Method were used to measure the publication bias.
Results: The results showed that 428,993 students were studied in 55 papers between 2000 and 2016 and the prevalence of head louse (Pediculosis human capitis) was 6.4% (95% CI: 6-6.9). The prevalence of lice (pediculosis) infestation among girls was 6.1% (95% CI: 4.6-7.4) and in boys was 1.2% (95% CI: 0.8-1.7) and in rural areas prevalence was more than urban areas.
Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated a high incidence of pediculosis among rural school-girls. It is recommended that, creating awareness among this population is required, especially schools that do not have a health teacher. Large families, having low education among parents, must be educated about the condition and its prevention.
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