Table 2. Pooled mean estimate for hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremic rate by risk population in the Middle East and North Africa.
| Population at risk | Studies | HCV Ab prevalencea | HCV RNA positivity among HCV Ab positive individuals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample | Prevalence | Prevalence | Heterogeneity measures | |||||
| Total N | Mean (95% CI) | Total N | Range (%) | Mean (95% CI) | Qb (p-value) | I2c (95% CI) | Prediction intervald (%) | |
| General populations | 81 | 10.4 (8.4–12.5) | 10,448 | 26–100 | 66.9 (62.6–71.1) | 1,510.9 (p < 0.0001) | 94.7 (93.9–95.3) | 29.1–95.3 |
| Populations at intermediate risk | 20 | 10.4 (6.8–14.6) | 682 | 9–100 | 67.1 (58.6–75.2) | 85.2 (p < 0.0001) | 77.7 (66.0–85.4) | 30.9–94.9 |
| Populations at high risk healthcare-related exposures | 51 | 31.3 (36.0–36.7) | 3,814 | 22–100 | 68.5 (63.5–73.3) | 478.0 (p < 0.0001) | 89.5 (87.1–91.5) | 33.7–94.8 |
| People who inject drugs | 5 | 42.2 (23.9–61.8) | 292 | 50–80 | 57.4 (49.4–65.2) | 5.6 (p = 0.23) | 28.8 (0.0–72.3) | 37.2–76.4 |
| Populations with liver-related conditions | 8 | 6.5 (43.8–83.0) | 3,768 | 43–98 | 75.5 (61.0–87.6) | 190.0 (p < 0.0001) | 96.3 (94.5–97.5) | 22.3–100 |
| Special clinical populations | 12 | 30.1 (19.6–41.8) | 571 | 38–91 | 67.4 (56.7–77.3) | 62.6 (p < 0.0001) | 82.4 (70.6–89.5) | 28.7–96.2 |
| All studiese | 178 | 18.8 (16.7–21.1) | 19,593 | 9–100 | 67.6 (64.9–70.3) | 2,351.7 (p < 0.0001) | 92.5 (91.6–93.2) | 33.7–93.8 |
a This mean is the mean of HCV Ab prevalence in the study population from which the HCV viremic rate was extracted.
b Q: The Cochran’s Q statistic is a measure assessing the existence of heterogeneity in effect size.
c I2: A measure that assesses the magnitude of between-study variation that is due to differences in effect size across studies rather than chance.
d Prediction interval: A measure that estimates the 95% interval in which the true effect size in a new study will lie.
e A study including a mixed population group [40] was also considered in the meta-analysis.
Abbreviations: Ab = Antibody, CI = Confidence interval, HCV = Hepatitis C virus, RNA = Ribonucleic acid.