Epidemiological Prevalence of Pediculosis and its Influencing Factors in Iranian Schools: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

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 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, louse, lice, Pediculus humans capitis, pediculosis, primary 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 I-2. 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.