Abstract
BackgroundEstimating prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) worldwide is necessary in designing control programs and allocating health resources. We performed a meta-analysis to calculate the prevalence of CT in the general population.MethodsThe Pubmed and Embase databases were searched for eligible population-based studies from its inception through June 5, 2019. Q test and I2 statistic were used to calculate the heterogeneity between studies. Random effects models were used to pool the prevalence of CT. Meta regression was performed to explore the possible sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and “trim and fill” method.ResultsTwenty nine studies that reported prevalence of CT infection from 24 countries were identified, including a total population of 89,886 persons. The pooled prevalence of CT among the general population was 2.9% (95% CI, 2.4–3.5%), and females had a higher CT prevalence (3.1, 95% CI, 2.5–3.8%) than males (2.6, 95% CI, 2.0–3.2%) (χ2 = 10.38, P < 0.01). Prevalence of CT was highest in region of America (4.5, 95% CI, 3.1–5.9%), especially in Latin America (6.7, 95% CI, 5.0–8.4%), followed by females in region of Africa (3.8, 95% CI, 0.7–6.9%), while South-East Asia had a lowest CT prevalence 0.8% (95% CI, 0.3–1.3%).ConclusionsThis study provided the updated prevalence of CT among general population worldwide. General population from Latin America, especially females, and women in Africa should be given priority by WHO when design and delivery CT control programs.
Highlights
Estimating prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) worldwide is necessary in designing control programs and allocating health resources
Inclusion and exclusion criteria Studies included in this meta-analysis met all the following inclusion criteria: (1) cross-sectional studies or baseline study of cohort studies; (2) reported data from a general population; (3) explicitly reported prevalence of CT infection, or number of infected cases; (4) used nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) or cell culture for diagnostic testing
Ten studies were conducted in Americas [6, 8, 27, 29, 33,34,35, 38, 40, 41], 9 in Europe [7, 10, 12, 28, 30, 31, 35,36,37], 7 in Western Pacific region [3, 9, 11, 18, 19, 32, 35], 4 in South-East Asia [16, 17, 35, 39] and 3 in Africa [35, 42, 43]
Summary
Estimating prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) worldwide is necessary in designing control programs and allocating health resources. Studies estimating prevalence of CT for selective populations such as high school students, military recruits, clinic based individuals were included in these meta-analyses, which introduced potential heterogeneity for the pooled results [13, 20,21,22]. We preformed this meta-analysis to update global and regional prevalence estimates for CT infection in the general population and provide convincing information for design and delivery CT control programs
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