Dataset Information

Burden of fungal asthma in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Asthma is one of the neglected diseases in Africa with a high prevalence. Allergic fungal diseases have been reported to complicate asthma progression and treatment outcomes. However, data about fungal asthma and its associated complications are limited in Africa. We aimed to estimate the burden of fungal asthma among adults and children in Africa using a systematic review.

Methods

We first engaged the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) to highlight the trend in morbidity and mortality attributed to asthma in Africa. We then searched PubMed, HINARI and Google Scholar for all studies of any design focusing on fungal asthma in any African country. Languages were restricted to English and French, but not year of publication. We estimated the weighted prevalence of allergic fungal infections among asthmatics with a 95% CI and pooled the results using a random effects model. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42019117319.

Results

The IHME data showed that there has been a gradual increase in morbidity and mortality due to asthma in African adults with a prevalence of 4%. Our search retrieved 5233 citations. We retained 20 studies that met our selection criteria. These were from 13 African countries published between 1967 and 2018. There were eight cross-sectional studies and twelve review articles. The average asthma prevalence in Africa was 6% from these studies. The prevalence of fungal sensitisation was relatively high (3-52%) in the asthmatic population with an average of 28% and a pooled estimate of 23.3%, mostly due to Aspergillus species. Prevalence of Allergic bronchopulmonary apsergillosis was estimated at 1.6-21.2%. Diagnosis of fungal allergy was mostly made by skin prick tests. There was no data on the use of medication to manage fungal asthma. None of the studies evaluated the association between fungal allergy and asthma severity. Data were lacking in children.

Conclusion

There is a high prevalence of fungal sensitization among Africans with asthma. Fungal asthma is a significant problem in Africa but there remains a paucity of data on the epidemiology and associated complications. There is urgent need for national epidemiological studies to estimate the actual burden of fungal asthma in Africa.

SUBMITTER: Kwizera R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6521988 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundIn China, childhood asthma prevalence showed a remarkable increase in the past decades. An updated epidemiological assessment of childhood asthma in China with a focus on prevalence and time trends is required.MethodsWe systematically searched three main Chinese databases and one English database to identify epidemiological studies of the prevalence of childhood asthma in China. Asthma cases were defined according to one of the five sets of Chinese diagnostic criteria which were established by the Children Respiratory Disease Group. We estimated age- and sex-specific prevalence of asthma using a multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression. We presented the time trends of asthma prevalence between 1990 and 2020 by age, sex and setting (urban vs rural), and also estimated the number of children affected by asthma in 2010.ResultsIn 1990, the prevalence of asthma ranged from 0.13% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.10-0.20) in rural girls aged 14 years to 1.34% (95% CI = 1.11-1.67) in urban boys aged five years. In 2010, the overall prevalence of asthma in Chinese children aged 0-14 years was 2.12% (95% CI = 1.83-2.51), corresponding to 5.16 million children living with asthma. Children aged 5-9 years were with the highest prevalence estimate of 2.65% (95% CI = 2.31-3.12) and those aged 10-14 years were with the lowest (1.48%, 95% CI = 1.26-1.78). In 2020, it is expected that this disparity will continue, with the prevalence of asthma being at the lowest level among rural girls aged 14 years (1.11%, 95% CI = 0.82-1.54) and at the highest level among urban boys aged four years (10.27%, 95% CI = 8.61-12.18). Over the 30 years (1990-2020), the prevalence of asthma in children aged 0-14 years has increased in both sexes and settings, which was consistently the lowest in rural girls and the highest in urban boys.ConclusionsThis study shows that childhood asthma has been increasingly prevalent in China. Asthma is more frequent in boys and in rural areas. The detailed and systematic estimates of asthma prevalence in this study constitute the best currently available basis for policymaking, planning, and allocation of health and welfare resources related to the burden of childhood asthma in China.

Project description:BackgroundMalnutrition in pregnancy remains unacceptably high across all regions of Africa though promising progresses have been made globally. Primary studies might not be sufficient to portrait a comprehensive picture of malnutrition during pregnancy and its main risk factors. Therefore, we intended to review the burden of malnutrition, for this specific review implies to protein energy malnutrition, during pregnancy in Africa to present its magnitude and determinant factors.MethodsWe did a systematic review of observational studies published from January 1/2008 to January 31/2018. The CINAHL(EBSCO), MEDLINE (via Ovid), Emcare, PubMed databases and Google scholar were searched. Articles quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and studies with fair to good quality were included. We pooled malnutrition prevalence and an odds ratio estimates for risk factors after checking for heterogeneity and publication bias. This review has been registered in Prospero with a protocol number CRD42018114949.Result23 studies involving 20,672 pregnant women were included. Using a random effect model, the overall pooled prevalence of malnutrition among pregnant women in Africa was 23.5% (95%CI: 17.72-29.32; I2 = 98.5%). Based on the current review pooled odds ratio finding; rural residency (POR = 2.6%; 95%CI: 1.48-4.65; I2 = 0%), low educational status of partners (POR = 1.7%; 95%CI: 1.19-2.53; I2 = 54.8%), multiple pregnancy (POR = 2.15%; 95%CI: 1.27-3.64; I2 = 0%) and poor nutritional indicators (POR = 2.03%; 95%CI: 1.72-2.4, I2 = 0%) were positively determine maternal malnutrition. On contrary, better household economic status (POR = 0.47%; 95%CI: 0.36-0.62; I2 = 24.2%) negatively determine maternal malnutrition.ConclusionA significant number of the pregnant population in Africa are suffering of malnutrition, above 10% of the standard acceptable malnutrition rate. Thus, efforts should be renewed to ensure a proper and widespread implementation of programs that would address issues identified in the current review to reduce the burden of malnutrition.

Project description:ObjectiveContemporary data on the attainment of optimal diabetes treatment goals and the burden of diabetes complications in adult populations with type 2 diabetes in Africa are lacking. We aimed to document the current status of attainment of three key indicators of optimal diabetes care and the prevalence of five diabetes complications in adult African populations with type 2 diabetes.MethodsWe systematically searched Embase, PubMed and the Cochrane library for published studies from January 2000 to December 2020. Included studies reported any information on the proportion of attainment of optimal glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) goals and/or prevalence of five diabetes complications (diabetic peripheral neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy, foot ulcers and peripheral arterial disease). Random effect model meta-analysis was performed to determine the pooled proportion of attainment of the three treatment goals and the prevalence of five diabetes complications.ResultsIn total, 109 studies with a total of 63 890 participants (53.3% being females) were included in the meta-analysis. Most of the studies were conducted in Eastern African countries (n=44, 40.4%). The pooled proportion of attainment of an optimal HbA1c, BP and LDLC goal was 27% (95% CI 24 to 30, I2=94.7%), 38% (95% CI 30 to 46, I2=98.7%) and 42% (95% CI 32 to 52, I2=97.4%), respectively. The pooled prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, peripheral arterial disease and foot ulcers was 38% (95% CI 31 to 45, I2=98.2%), 32% (95% CI 28 to 36, I2=98%), 31% (95% CI 22 to 41, I2=99.3%), 19% (95% CI 12 to 25, I2=98.1%) and 11% (95% CI 9 to 14, I2=97.4%), respectively.ConclusionAttainment of optimal diabetes treatment goals, especially HbA1c, in adult patients with type 2 diabetes in Africa remains a challenge. Diabetes complications, especially diabetic peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy, are highly prevalent in adult populations with type 2 diabetes in Africa.

Project description:BACKGROUND:A clear understanding of the effects of housing structure, education, occupation, income, and wealth on malaria can help to better design socioeconomic interventions to control the disease. This literature review summarizes the relationship of housing structure, educational level, occupation, income, and wealth with the epidemiology of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). METHODS:A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. The protocol for this study is registered in PROSPERO (ID=CRD42017056070), an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews. On January 16, 2016, available literature was searched in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. All but case studies, which reported prevalence or incidence of Plasmodium infection stratified by socioeconomic status among individuals living in SSA, were included without any limits. Odds Ratio (OR) and Relative Risk (RR), together with 95% CI and p-values were used as effect measures. Heterogeneity was assessed using chi-square, Moran's I2, and tau2 tests. Fixed (I2<30%), random (I2?30%) or log-linear dose-response model was used to estimate the summary OR or RR. RESULTS:After removing duplicates and screening of titles, abstracts, and full text, 84 articles were found eligible for systematic review, and 75 of them were included in the meta-analyses. Fifty-seven studies were cross-sectional, 12 were prospective cohort, 10 were case-control, and five were randomized control trials. The odds of Plasmodium infection increased among individuals who were living in poor quality houses (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.56-3.23, I2 = 27.7), were uneducated (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.19-1.54, I2 = 72.4.0%), and were farmers by occupation (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.11-1.85, I2 = 0.0%) [p<0.01 for all]. The odds of Plasmodium infection also increased with a decrease in the income (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03, tau2<0.001), and wealth index of individuals (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.18-1.35, tau2 = 0.028) [p<0.001 for both]. Longitudinal studies also showed an increased risk of Plasmodium infection among individuals who were living in poor quality houses (RR 1.86, 95% CI 1.47-2.25, I2 = 0.0%), were uneducated (OR 1.27, 1.03-1.50, I2 = 0.0%), and were farmers (OR 1.36, 1.18-1.58) [p<0.01 for all]. CONCLUSIONS:Lack of education, low income, low wealth, living in poorly constructed houses, and having an occupation in farming may increase risk of Plasmodium infection among people in SSA. Public policy measures that can reduce inequity in health coverage, as well as improve economic and educational opportunities for the poor, will help in reducing the burden of malaria in SSA.