Prevalence of Giardia lamblia in Iran: a systematic review and Meta analysis study

Giardia lamblia is a frequent cause of diarrhea in humans and other mammals across the world. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of Giardia lamblia in Iran.

Search was done in data base such as: ISI , Pubmed , Magiran, IranMedex, SID and IranDoc with the words" Giardia lamblia" since 1990 onward. Overall, 43 studies were selected for a systematic review and meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was conducted using random effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was investigated by the Cochran's Q test.

The prevalence of Giardia lamblia in Iran was estimated to be 14.7% (95% CI :12.0%-16.6%). The prevalence of Giardia lamblia was 15.1% amongst children under 10 years old, 19.2% amongst adolescents, and 6.7% amongst adults of between 20-30 years old (p<0.001). The maximum prevalence of Giardia lamblia was recorded in 1994 and minimum in the year 2005 (37.21% and 4.91%).

Prevalence of Giardiasis is more prevalent among children and East of Iran. So, proper strategy should be designed reduce the prevalence. Keywords: Giardiasis, Iran, Meta-analysis.