ABSTRACT

Purpose

To review and summarize information on meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) epidemiology in Africa.

Methods

A systematic search of online databases was conducted for literature/studies on MGD in Africa. Meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the prevalence of MGD in Africa. Meta-regression was used to explore sources of heterogeneity.

Results

Twelve studies conducted in five countries were included in the review. All studies were hospital-based studies. Nine studies were included in the meta-analysis; the total sample size was 4963 and participants’ age range was 17–96 years. The overall prevalence estimate of MGD in Africa was 45.9% (95% CI: 27.6–64.1%). Prevalence of MGD among males and females were each pooled from three studies and in urban and rural setting from 6 and 3 studies, respectively. Prevalence of MGD among males and females were 56.0% (95% CI: 22.4–89.5%) and 58.9% (95% CI: 28.5–89.4%) respectively; in urban and rural settings were 42.8% (95% CI: 21.1–64.5%) and 65.7% (95% CI: 25.7–95.7%), respectively. There was no association of MGD with sex (p = .872) and with study setting (p = .231).

Conclusion

There is a paucity of evidence on MGD prevalence in Africa, emphasizing the need for epidemiological studies to enhance our understanding of region-specific differences in MGD in Africa. The pooled estimate from hospital-based studies, however, suggests a substantial MGD burden in Africa. Epidemiological studies are needed to assess if this translates to a high disease burden within the general African population.

中文翻译：

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非洲睑板腺功能障碍的患病率：观察研究的系统回顾和荟萃分析

摘要

目的

回顾和总结非洲睑板腺功能障碍 (MGD) 流行病学的信息。

方法

对非洲 MGD 的文献/研究进行了在线数据库的系统搜索。进行了荟萃分析以估计非洲 MGD 的患病率。Meta回归用于探索异质性的来源。

结果

该评价纳入了在五个国家进行的 12 项研究。所有研究都是基于医院的研究。九项研究被纳入荟萃分析；总样本量为 4963，参与者的年龄范围为 17-96 岁。非洲 MGD 的总体患病率估计为 45.9%（95% CI：27.6-64.1%）。男性和女性的 MGD 患病率分别来自三项研究和城市和农村地区的 6 项和 3 项研究。男性和女性的 MGD 患病率分别为 56.0%（95% CI：22.4-89.5%）和 58.9%（95% CI：28.5-89.4%）；在城市和农村环境中，分别为 42.8%（95% CI：21.1-64.5%）和 65.7%（95% CI：25.7-95.7%）。MGD 与性别 ( p = .872) 和研究环境 ( p = .231) 无关。

结论

缺乏关于非洲 MGD 患病率的证据，强调需要进行流行病学研究以增强我们对非洲 MGD 区域特定差异的理解。然而，基于医院的研究的汇总估计表明，非洲的 MGD 负担很大。需要进行流行病学研究来评估这是否会转化为非洲普通人群的高疾病负担。