Prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus among intravenous drug users: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Intravenous drug users (IDUs) have been demonstrated to be highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, the prevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an important co-infected agent with HIV, among this population remained obscure. We conducted a systematic review on the epidemiological features of KSHV among IDUs worldwide. Eligible studies were retrieved from 6 electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI and Wanfang). We calculated the pooled prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) overall and among subgroups using either random-effects model or fixed-effects model depending on between-study heterogeneity. The potential publication bias was assessed by the Egger's test. A meta-regression analysis was performed to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Finally, twenty-two studies with a total sample of 7881 IDUs were included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence of KSHV was 14.71% (95% CI 11.12%–19.46%) among IDUs. Specifically, KSHV prevalence was 10.86% (95% CI 6.95%–16.96%) in HIV-negative IDUs, and 13.56% (95% CI 10.57%–17.38%) in HIV-positive IDUs. Moreover, prevalence among IDUs from the three continents involved in the current study was similar: 16.10% (95%CI 7.73%–33.54%) in Asia; 14.22% (95%CI 8.96%–22.57%) in Europe and 14.06% (95%CI 11.38%–17.37%) in America. Globally, IDUs are at higher risk of the KSHV infection when compared with the general population, regardless of geographical region or HIV-infection status.

from #ORL-AlexandrosSfakianakis via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2gM3nKm