Frequency of Human Brucellosis Complications in West Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
8 affiliations
- 1University of Tehran Tehran Iran
- 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran
- 3Department of Microbiology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Olsztyn Poland
- 4Department of Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran
- 5Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran
- 6Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Division of Epidemiology & Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran Iran
- 7Center for Communicable Diseases Management Ministry of Health and Medical Education Tehran Iran
- 8Department of Public Health Torbat Jam University of Medical Sciences Torbat Jam Iran
Abstract
Background Brucellosis is a multi‐systemic zoonotic infection. The West Asia/Middle East region is an important global hotspot for brucellosis. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to aggregate and synthesize all the available evidence regarding the complications of brucellosis in West Asia/Middle East region. Methods PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Proquest were searched. Selection of studies, data extraction, and the risk of bias assessment were performed in duplicate. Data extraction was performed for 254 complications. Meta‐analysis was performed using a random‐effects model with Freeman–Tukey double arcsine transformation. Where applicable small‐study effects was assessed using funnel plots and Egger's test. Separate by‐country, by‐age, and by‐publication‐decade subgroup analyses were performed if feasible. Results Out of 9518 results, 240 studies (260 references) were included. The majority of the included studies were conducted in Turkey (n = 177). The reported complications varied and different complication categorization systems were detected. The highest pooled estimate was observed for musculoskeletal involvement (50%, 95%CI: 39%–61%, I2 = 96.63%). The evidences is up‐to‐date until March 4, 2024. Conclusions Some complications such as the complications of the eye were not reported in all the countries. Therefore, it's recommended to determine the relative frequency of those complications in regions without such reports. The pooled estimates of different complications of brucellosis were different. There's a need for the standardization of the reporting of the complications of brucellosis to achieve comparability between studies and across different regions.
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BibTeX
@article{fakhridemeshghieh2026frequency,
title = {{Frequency of Human Brucellosis Complications in West Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis}},
author = {Aliasghar Fakhri‐Demeshghieh and Elnaz Rostamzaman and Fatemeh Sayareh and Amir Nikoukar and Faranak Farahani and Farniya Bakhtiary nia and Helia Sepahvand and Maryam Khaleghi and Mohammadsaeed Azamian and Mohammad Reza Shirzadi and Hesameddin Akbarein and Vahid Rahmanian},
journal = {MicrobiologyOpen},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/mbo3.70388},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.70388},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Frequency of Human Brucellosis Complications in West Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
AU - Aliasghar Fakhri‐Demeshghieh
AU - Elnaz Rostamzaman
AU - Fatemeh Sayareh
AU - Amir Nikoukar
AU - Faranak Farahani
AU - Farniya Bakhtiary nia
AU - Helia Sepahvand
AU - Maryam Khaleghi
AU - Mohammadsaeed Azamian
AU - Mohammad Reza Shirzadi
AU - Hesameddin Akbarein
AU - Vahid Rahmanian
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - MicrobiologyOpen
DO - 10.1002/mbo3.70388
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/mbo3.70388
AB - Background Brucellosis is a multi‐systemic zoonotic infection. The West Asia/Middle East region is an important global hotspot for brucellosis. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to aggregate and synthesize all the available evidence regarding the complications of brucellosis in West Asia/Middle East region. Methods PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Proquest were searched. Selection of studies, data extraction, and the risk of bias assessment were performed in duplicate. Data extraction was performed for 254 complications. Meta‐analysis was performed using a random‐effects model with Freeman–Tukey double arcsine transformation. Where applicable small‐study effects was assessed using funnel plots and Egger's test. Separate by‐country, by‐age, and by‐publication‐decade subgroup analyses were performed if feasible. Results Out of 9518 results, 240 studies (260 references) were included. The majority of the included studies were conducted in Turkey (n = 177). The reported complications varied and different complication categorization systems were detected. The highest pooled estimate was observed for musculoskeletal involvement (50%, 95%CI: 39%–61%, I2 = 96.63%). The evidences is up‐to‐date until March 4, 2024. Conclusions Some complications such as the complications of the eye were not reported in all the countries. Therefore, it's recommended to determine the relative frequency of those complications in regions without such reports. The pooled estimates of different complications of brucellosis were different. There's a need for the standardization of the reporting of the complications of brucellosis to achieve comparability between studies and across different regions.
SN - 2045-8827
ER -