Table 4. Pooled mean estimate for hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremic rate by risk subpopulation, sex, and sampling method in the Middle East and North Africa.
| Variables | Studies | HCV Ab prevalencea | HCV RNA positivity among HCV Ab positive individuals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample | Prevalence | Effect size | Heterogeneity measures | |||||
| Total N | Mean (95% CI) | Total N | Range (%) | Mean (95% CI) | Qb (p-value) | I2c (95% CI) | Prediction intervald (%) | |
| Subpopulations among the general population | ||||||||
| Blood donors | 8 | 1.4 (0.5–2.7) | 636 | 62–93 | 76.3 (68.6–84.0) | 30.94 (p < 0.0001) | 77.4 (55.2–88.6) | 46.5–95.6 |
| Children | 7 | 3.7 (1.1–7.6) | 225 | 27–75 | 54.0 (37.6–70.0) | 26.1 (p < 0.0002) | 77.0 (51.9–89.0) | 7.6–96.4 |
| Pregnant women/ANC attendees | 9 | 7.7 (5.8–9.9) | 1,084 | 26–79 | 58.1 (42.1–73.4) | 149.3 (p < 0.0001) | 94.6 (91.8–96.5) | 7.4–99.2 |
| Other general populations | 57 | 13.9 (10.8–17.1) | 8503 | 29–100 | 68.1 (62.9–73.1) | 1,290.8 (p < 0.0001) | 95.7 (94.9–96.3) | 28.8–96.6 |
| Subpopulations among the populations at high risk healthcare-related exposures | ||||||||
| Hemophilia patients | 6 | 55.7 (35.6–74.9) | 782 | 48–89 | 73.6 (63.9–82.3) | 25.7 (p < 0.0001) | 80.5 (58.0–91.0) | 40.0–96.6 |
| Hemodialysis patients | 27 | 26.3 (22.0–30.1) | 1,967 | 26–93 | 66.5 (59.5–73.2) | 241.6 (p < 0.0001) | 89.2 (85.6–92.0) | 30.4–94.4 |
| Thalassemia patients | 16 | 29.6 (22.2–37.5) | 1,027 | 34–100 | 72.1 (61.6–81.6) | 177.5 (p < 0.0001) | 91.5 (87.9–94.1) | 26.3–99.9 |
| Sex | ||||||||
| Females | 33 | 11.0 (8.4–13.9) | 2,712 | 26–100 | 65.4 (60.1–70.6) | 225.5 (p < 0.0001) | 85.8 (81.1–89.4) | 36.3–89.6 |
| Males | 26 | 15.1 (10.4–20.5) | 2,953 | 27–100 | 67.4 (58.1–76.0) | 582.5 (p < 0.0001) | 95.7 (94.6–96.6) | 20.0–99.4 |
| Mixed | 119 | 22.5 (19.4–25.7) | 13,928 | 9–100 | 68.2 (64.9–71.3) | 1,542.1 (p < 0.0001) | 92.3 (91.3–93.2) | 34.9–93.9 |
| Sampling methods | ||||||||
| Convenience sampling | 126 | 22.4 (19.4–25.5) | 13,713 | 9–100 | 68.2 (64.8–71.6) | 1,843.8 (p < 0.0001) | 93.2 (92.4–94.0) | 31.5–95.6 |
| National population-based and probability-based sampling | 41 | 11.2 (7.9–14.9) | 3,112 | 28–82 | 68.7 (66.6–70.8) | 57.92 (p < 0.0003) | 30.9 (0.0–53.1) | 60.7–76.1 |
| Other probability-based sampling | 11 | 13.9 (5.9–24.5) | 2,768 | 29–76 | 58.7 (49.4–67.6) | 170.4 (p < 0.0001) | 94.1 (91.3–96.0) | 25.8–87.8 |
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.
Abbreviations: Ab = Antibody, ANC = Antenatal care, CI = Confidence interval, HCV = Hepatitis C virus, RNA = Ribonucleic acid.