Epidemiology of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which leads to acid reflux into the esophagus, is a common gastrointestinal disorder. Several studies have shown the prevalence of GERD in Iranian population, but their evidence is contradictory. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of GERD in Iran. METHODS: The entire steps of this systematic review and meta-analysis were based on the MOOSE protocol, and the results were reported accordance with the PRISMA guideline. This review is registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020142861). To find potentially relevant published articles, comprehensive search was done on international online databases Scopus, Science Direct, EMBASE, PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Iranian online databases and the Google Scholar search engine in June 2019. Cochran test and I(2) index were used to assess the heterogeneity of the studies. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software ver. 2. The significance level of the test was considered to be P < 0.05. RESULTS: The daily, weekly, monthly, and overall prevalence of GERD symptoms in Iranian population was 5.64% (95%CI [confidence interval]: 3.77–8.35%; N = 66,398), 12.50% (95%CI: 9.63–16.08%; N = 110,388), 18.62% (95%CI: 12.90–26.12%; N = 70,749) and 43.07% (95%CI: 35.00–51.53%; N = 73,189), respectively. The daily, weekly, monthly, and overall prevalence of heartburn in Iranian population was 2.46% (95%CI: 0.93–6.39%; N = 18,774), 9.52% (95%CI: 6.16–14.41%; N = 54,125), 8.19% (95%CI: 2.42–24.30%; N = 19,363) and 23.20% (95%CI: 13.56–36.79%; N = 26,543), respectively. The daily, weekly, monthly, and overall prevalence of regurgitation in Iranian population was 4.00% (95%CI: 1.88–8.32%; N = 18,774), 9.79% (95%CI: 5.99–15.60%; N = 41,140), 13.76% (95%CI: 6.18–44.31%; N = 19,363) and 36.53% (95%CI: 19.30–58.08%; N = 21,174), respectively. The sensitivity analysis for prevalence of all types GERD, heartburn and regurgitation symptoms by removing a study showed that the overall estimate is still robust. CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis provides comprehensive and useful information on the epidemiology of GERD in Iran for policy-makers and health care providers. This study showed a high prevalence of GERD in Iran. Therefore, effective measures on GERD-related factors such as lifestyle can be among the health policies of Iran.