title: Epidemiological Profile of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Iran in the Past 25 years; A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of General Population Studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most important health problems worldwide with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. It is a major risk factor for cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, Iran is located in the intermediate HBV zone; however, recent studies have provided some evidence indicating an epidemiological change in the country. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HBV in Iran. METHODS A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the studies performed in the past 25 years that have reported the prevalence of HBV infection and its associated factors in the Iranian general population (1990-2014). Any study assessing and reporting serum Hbs Ag levels was included in this review. RESULTS After excluding all impertinent studies, 19 eligible studies were included in the analysis. The overall prevalence of HBV was 3% (95% CI 2% to 3%). Its distribution showed that the prevalence of HBV varies in different provinces from 0.87% to 8.86%. The HBV rate was highest in the Golestan (8.86%) and lowest in the Kurdistan (0.87%) provinces. CONCLUSION This study provides some evidence about the prevalence of HBV in Iran. However, the collected data was very heterogenic, even within a single province, which made it hard to estimate a single-point prevalence. High quality studies are needed to find reliable information about HBV prevalence and to decrease the heterogeneity of results in the country.
authors.affiliation: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences Education Development, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abbasali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keshtkar
authors.affiliation: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sareh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eghtesad
authors.affiliation: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jeddian
authors.affiliation: Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medical Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali Akbar
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Pourfatholah
authors.affiliation: Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahtab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maghsudlu
authors.affiliation: Blood Transfusion Research Center, High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zadsar
authors.affiliation: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mahmoudi
authors.affiliation: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Amaneh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shayanrad
authors.affiliation: Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Poustchi
authors.affiliation: Digestive Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malekzadeh
keywords: Epidemiology; General population; Hepatitis B; Iran; Systematic review