The global prevalence of premature ovarian insufficiency: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective The objective of this review was to answer the global prevalence of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), and explore the associated factors including etiopathology and regions with POI. Methods The search was conducted on reports from a total of eight databases that comprised Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, China BioMedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science and Ovid MEDLINE® between 1946 and 2021. To analyze the source of heterogeneity, we performed subgroup analysis based on different etiologies and regions. Meta-analysis was carried out by Stata14.0 software. Results The results showed that the global overall prevalence of POI among women was 3.5%. By subgroup analysis, the prevalence of POI among women with iatrogenic etiology was 11.2%, followed by autoimmunity (10.5%); the prevalence of POI by region was 11.3% at the highest in North America followed by South America (5.4%); and the prevalence of POI was 5.3% in a developing country, higher than 3.1% in a developed country. The trend of prevalence of POI over the past 20 years was on the rise (although p > 0.05). Conclusion We recommend that health and medical institutions strengthen public health awareness, achieve health-education goals related to POI and increase women’s awareness of and attention to POI.