Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) play a pivotal role in controlling typhoid fever, as it is primarily transmitted through oral-fecal pathways. Given our constrained resources, staying current with the most recent research is crucial. This ensures we remain informed about pra...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chaelin Kim, Gerard R. Goucher, Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Woojoo Lee, Kaja Abbas, Jong-Hoon Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023-08-01
Series:BMC Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08452-0
_version_ 1827635472077160448
author Chaelin Kim
Gerard R. Goucher
Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse
Woojoo Lee
Kaja Abbas
Jong-Hoon Kim
author_facet Chaelin Kim
Gerard R. Goucher
Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse
Woojoo Lee
Kaja Abbas
Jong-Hoon Kim
author_sort Chaelin Kim
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) play a pivotal role in controlling typhoid fever, as it is primarily transmitted through oral-fecal pathways. Given our constrained resources, staying current with the most recent research is crucial. This ensures we remain informed about practical insights regarding effective typhoid fever control strategies across various WASH components. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies to estimate the associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene exposures with typhoid fever. Methods We updated the previous review conducted by Brockett et al. We included new findings published between June 2018 and October 2022 in Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed. We used the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool for risk of bias (ROB) assessment. We classified WASH exposures according to the classification provided by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene (JMP) update in 2015. We conducted the meta-analyses by only including studies that did not have a critical ROB in both Bayesian and frequentist random-effects models. Results We identified 8 new studies and analyzed 27 studies in total. Our analyses showed that while the general insights on the protective (or harmful) impact of improved (or unimproved) WASH remain the same, the pooled estimates of OR differed. Pooled estimates of limited hygiene (OR = 2.26, 95% CrI: 1.38 to 3.64), untreated water (OR = 1.96, 95% CrI: 1.28 to 3.27) and surface water (OR = 2.14, 95% CrI: 1.03 to 4.06) showed 3% increase, 18% decrease, and 16% increase, respectively, from the existing estimates. On the other hand, improved WASH reduced the odds of typhoid fever with pooled estimates for improved water source (OR = 0.54, 95% CrI: 0.31 to 1.08), basic hygiene (OR = 0.6, 95% CrI: 0.38 to 0.97) and treated water (OR = 0.54, 95% CrI: 0.36 to 0.8) showing 26% decrease, 15% increase, and 8% decrease, respectively, from the existing estimates. Conclusions The updated pooled estimates of ORs for the association of WASH with typhoid fever showed clear changes from the existing estimates. Our study affirms that relatively low-cost WASH strategies such as basic hygiene or water treatment can be an effective tool to provide protection against typhoid fever in addition to other resource-intensive ways to improve WASH. Trial registration PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021271881.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T15:27:09Z
format Article
id doaj.art-554c92e3fef549918856bed65123056a
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1471-2334
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T15:27:09Z
publishDate 2023-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Infectious Diseases
spelling doaj.art-554c92e3fef549918856bed65123056a2023-11-26T12:27:20ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342023-08-0123111710.1186/s12879-023-08452-0Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysisChaelin Kim0Gerard R. Goucher1Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse2Woojoo Lee3Kaja Abbas4Jong-Hoon Kim5International Vaccine InstituteInternational Vaccine InstituteInternational Vaccine InstituteGraduate School of Public Health, Seoul National UniversityLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineInternational Vaccine InstituteAbstract Background Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) play a pivotal role in controlling typhoid fever, as it is primarily transmitted through oral-fecal pathways. Given our constrained resources, staying current with the most recent research is crucial. This ensures we remain informed about practical insights regarding effective typhoid fever control strategies across various WASH components. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies to estimate the associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene exposures with typhoid fever. Methods We updated the previous review conducted by Brockett et al. We included new findings published between June 2018 and October 2022 in Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed. We used the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool for risk of bias (ROB) assessment. We classified WASH exposures according to the classification provided by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene (JMP) update in 2015. We conducted the meta-analyses by only including studies that did not have a critical ROB in both Bayesian and frequentist random-effects models. Results We identified 8 new studies and analyzed 27 studies in total. Our analyses showed that while the general insights on the protective (or harmful) impact of improved (or unimproved) WASH remain the same, the pooled estimates of OR differed. Pooled estimates of limited hygiene (OR = 2.26, 95% CrI: 1.38 to 3.64), untreated water (OR = 1.96, 95% CrI: 1.28 to 3.27) and surface water (OR = 2.14, 95% CrI: 1.03 to 4.06) showed 3% increase, 18% decrease, and 16% increase, respectively, from the existing estimates. On the other hand, improved WASH reduced the odds of typhoid fever with pooled estimates for improved water source (OR = 0.54, 95% CrI: 0.31 to 1.08), basic hygiene (OR = 0.6, 95% CrI: 0.38 to 0.97) and treated water (OR = 0.54, 95% CrI: 0.36 to 0.8) showing 26% decrease, 15% increase, and 8% decrease, respectively, from the existing estimates. Conclusions The updated pooled estimates of ORs for the association of WASH with typhoid fever showed clear changes from the existing estimates. Our study affirms that relatively low-cost WASH strategies such as basic hygiene or water treatment can be an effective tool to provide protection against typhoid fever in addition to other resource-intensive ways to improve WASH. Trial registration PROSPERO 2021 CRD42021271881.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08452-0Typhoid fever; Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)Case-control studyIntervention strategyBayesian meta-analysis
spellingShingle Chaelin Kim
Gerard R. Goucher
Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse
Woojoo Lee
Kaja Abbas
Jong-Hoon Kim
Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis
BMC Infectious Diseases
Typhoid fever; Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)
Case-control study
Intervention strategy
Bayesian meta-analysis
title Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort associations of water sanitation and hygiene with typhoid fever in case control studies a systematic review and meta analysis
topic Typhoid fever; Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)
Case-control study
Intervention strategy
Bayesian meta-analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08452-0
work_keys_str_mv AT chaelinkim associationsofwatersanitationandhygienewithtyphoidfeverincasecontrolstudiesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT gerardrgoucher associationsofwatersanitationandhygienewithtyphoidfeverincasecontrolstudiesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT birknehtilahuntadesse associationsofwatersanitationandhygienewithtyphoidfeverincasecontrolstudiesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT woojoolee associationsofwatersanitationandhygienewithtyphoidfeverincasecontrolstudiesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT kajaabbas associationsofwatersanitationandhygienewithtyphoidfeverincasecontrolstudiesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT jonghoonkim associationsofwatersanitationandhygienewithtyphoidfeverincasecontrolstudiesasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis