Burden of intestinal parasitic infections and associated factors among pregnant women in East Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The ultimate goal of preventing intestinal parasites among pregnant women is to reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. Numerous primary studies were conducted in East Africa presented intestinal parasite infection and associated factors among pregnant women. However, the pooled finding is not known. Therefore, this review aimed to identify the pooled prevalence of intestinal parasite infection and its determinants among pregnant women in East Africa.

Methods: Articles published from 2009 to 2021 were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and HINARI databases. The search for unpublished studies such as thesis and dissertations was checked in Addis Ababa University and Africa Digital Library. PRISMA checklist was used to report the review. Articles published in the English Language were considered. The data were extracted by two authors using data extraction checklists on Microsoft excel. Heterogeneity among the included studies was checked using I² statistics on forest plots. Sensitivity and sub-group analyses were conducted to assess the presence of primary studies, and study characteristics responsible for the observed heterogeneity.

Results: Of the 43 identified articles, about 23 articles were removed due to duplications. Then, by assessing the abstracts and full texts, four articles were removed because they failed to meet the eligibility criteria. Finally, 16 articles were included in the systematic and meta-analysis.The pooled prevalence of intestinal parasites among pregnant women in East Africa was 38.54 (28.77, 48.32). In this study, variables like residing in rural areas (OR: 3.75; CI: 1.15,12.16), availability of latrine(OR: 2.94; 95% CI: 2.22, 3.91), eating raw fruits/vegetables (OR: 2.44; 95% CI: 1.16, 5.11). and sources of water as unprotected sources (OR: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.11,4.35) show statistically significant association with the increased burden of intestinal parasites among pregnant women.

Conclusion: The burden of intestinal parasite infection among pregnant women in East Africa was high. Therefore, efforts should be made in deworming pregnant women at the community and institutional level by stakeholders to reduce the burden of intestinal parasite infections and related complications.