Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Podoconiosis, one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), affects barefoot people in impoverished regions and contributes to poverty by having negative impacts on economic output, education, and disability. People who have the disease waste nearly half of all of their productive workda...

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Main Authors: Temesgen Lera Abiso, Amene Abebe Kerbo, Eskinder Wolka Woticha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-09-01
Series:SAGE Open Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231193602
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author Temesgen Lera Abiso
Amene Abebe Kerbo
Eskinder Wolka Woticha
author_facet Temesgen Lera Abiso
Amene Abebe Kerbo
Eskinder Wolka Woticha
author_sort Temesgen Lera Abiso
collection DOAJ
description Objective: Podoconiosis, one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), affects barefoot people in impoverished regions and contributes to poverty by having negative impacts on economic output, education, and disability. People who have the disease waste nearly half of all of their productive workdays. There is limited evidence available on prevalence of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the pooled prevalence of podoconiosis in the SSA over the last 10 years. Methods: Studies were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Google by using a combination of search terms with Boolean operators. All authors independently assessed each study’s quality using the modified Newcastle–Ottawa Scale for cross-sectional studies. STATA Version 14 was used to conduct the statistical analysis. The random-effect approach of meta-analysis was used. To test for heterogeneity, I-Squared ( I 2 ) statistics were employed and sensitivity analysis with a leave-one-out was done. Result: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, a total of 16 publications with 2,195,722 individuals were included. The pooled prevalence of podoconiosis was 2.66 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.24, 3.10) with heterogeneity index ( I 2 ) of 99.9%. Walking barefoot adjusted odd ratio (AOR) 5.35 (95% CI: 1.65, 9.05), p  = 0.001, not washing feet with soap and water regularly AOR 2.8 (95% CI: 1.16, 4.44, p  = 0.001), and an increased age AOR 2.23 (95% CI: 1.25, 5.58) were factors significantly associated with the prevalence of podoconiosis. Conclusion: This study revealed that pooled prevalence of podoconiosis was considerable in SSA. Age, being barefoot, and failing to wash one’s feet with soap and water have been identified to be factors that were significantly associated with the prevalence of podoconiosis. Therefore, creating awareness on shoe wearing and providing shoes in communication with supporting organizations in podoconiosis prevalent areas, and early diagnosis based on family history are needed for the prevention of podoconiosis
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spelling doaj.art-5409b83575394a52b43a458326b86c692023-09-15T14:03:33ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open Medicine2050-31212023-09-011110.1177/20503121231193602Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysisTemesgen Lera AbisoAmene Abebe KerboEskinder Wolka WotichaObjective: Podoconiosis, one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), affects barefoot people in impoverished regions and contributes to poverty by having negative impacts on economic output, education, and disability. People who have the disease waste nearly half of all of their productive workdays. There is limited evidence available on prevalence of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the pooled prevalence of podoconiosis in the SSA over the last 10 years. Methods: Studies were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Google by using a combination of search terms with Boolean operators. All authors independently assessed each study’s quality using the modified Newcastle–Ottawa Scale for cross-sectional studies. STATA Version 14 was used to conduct the statistical analysis. The random-effect approach of meta-analysis was used. To test for heterogeneity, I-Squared ( I 2 ) statistics were employed and sensitivity analysis with a leave-one-out was done. Result: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, a total of 16 publications with 2,195,722 individuals were included. The pooled prevalence of podoconiosis was 2.66 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.24, 3.10) with heterogeneity index ( I 2 ) of 99.9%. Walking barefoot adjusted odd ratio (AOR) 5.35 (95% CI: 1.65, 9.05), p  = 0.001, not washing feet with soap and water regularly AOR 2.8 (95% CI: 1.16, 4.44, p  = 0.001), and an increased age AOR 2.23 (95% CI: 1.25, 5.58) were factors significantly associated with the prevalence of podoconiosis. Conclusion: This study revealed that pooled prevalence of podoconiosis was considerable in SSA. Age, being barefoot, and failing to wash one’s feet with soap and water have been identified to be factors that were significantly associated with the prevalence of podoconiosis. Therefore, creating awareness on shoe wearing and providing shoes in communication with supporting organizations in podoconiosis prevalent areas, and early diagnosis based on family history are needed for the prevention of podoconiosishttps://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231193602
spellingShingle Temesgen Lera Abiso
Amene Abebe Kerbo
Eskinder Wolka Woticha
Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
SAGE Open Medicine
title Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort epidemiology of podoconiosis in sub saharan africa a systematic review and meta analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231193602
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AT eskinderwolkawoticha epidemiologyofpodoconiosisinsubsaharanafricaasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis