Prevalence of Behavioral Disorders in Iranian Children

Behavioral disorders in children will provide a basis for mental disorders in adulthood. Various studies reported different results on the prevalence of behavioral disorders in children, so, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at determining the prevalence of these disorders in Iranian children. A meta-analysis was performed in scientific databases including SID, Magiran, Barakat Knowledge Network System, ScienceDirect, Medline (PubMed), and Google Scholar for relevant articles published in 2000-2017. Reference lists of articles identified were reviewed for additional articles. Heterogeneity between the studies was checked using index. Data were analyzed using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA) software. The overall prevalence of behavioral disorders was 23% (95% Cl 15.1%-33.5%) in Iranian children. The highest and lowest rates of behavioral disorders in children were recorded in Hamedan (54.7% [95% Cl: 49.8%-56.9%]) and Ardebil (1.8% [95% Cl: 0.9%-3.7%]), respectively. According to the meta-regression diagram, the prevalence of behavioral disorders in Iranian Children decreased with an increase in the sample size and increased by the year (time) (p<0.05). High prevalence of behavioral disorders in Iranian children highlights the need for effective measures to prevent, control and treat these disorders.