Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, drug use, and sexual behaviors among street children in Iran: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Street children face a disproportionately higher risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) due to high‐risk sexual and drug use practices. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of these infections and related risk behaviors among street children in Iran. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science (ISI), Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar for the English‐language records and Iranian databases, including SID, Magiran, and IRANDOC for the Farsi‐language records up to September 18, 2022. Random effects analysis was used to obtain prevalence estimates for each condition. Homogeneity across included studies was assessed using I (2). RESULTS: We extracted data from 18 eligible studies, representing 5646 children (83.2% boys), with a mean age of 10.2 (range: 5–18). The prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV were 0.79% (95% confidence intervals [CIs]: 0.0–5.56), 1.97% (95% CI: 1.01–3.19), and 1.88% (95% CI: 0.74–3.46), respectively. The prevalence of lifetime drug use and sexual abuse was 8.32% (95% CI: 4.83–12.62) and 10.18% (95% CI: 3.02–20.67) among street children, respectively. CONCLUSION: The estimated prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV among street children in Iran was higher than the estimates in the general population. Moreover, drug use and the experience of sexual abuse were prevalent among this population. These findings suggest the need for targeted prevention programs for street children in Iran.