HPV and its high-risk genotypes in Middle Eastern countries: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer. Determining the geographic distribution of HPV genotypes is a major step in the implementation of cervical cancer screening. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HPV and its high-risk genotypes in Middle Eastern countries. Materials & methods: MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and ProQuest were searched from 2005 to 2018. The quality of the studies was determined by Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist. Fixed/random effects models were conducted to estimate the pooled prevalence. Results: The pooled prevalence of HPV was 12.3 and 5.2%. The prevalence of HPV in Africa (22%) was higher than that in Eurasia (8.3%) and Asia (12.6%). The prevalence of HPV was 14.4, 8.3, 22 and 10.2% in Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Arab countries, respectively. The prevalence of high-risk-HPV in the above-mentioned countries was 6.5, 6.2, 6.5 and 3.7%. Conclusion: Prevalence of HPV was increased in the Middle East. This highlights the need for public education, screening and vaccination programs.