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Review
. 2020 Oct;15(4):358-365.
doi: 10.18502/ijps.v15i4.4301.

Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Firefighters in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ali Sahebi  1   2 , Kosar Yousefi  2 , Siamak Moayedi  3 , Najaf Golitaleb  4 , Ali Esmaeili Vardanjani  5   6 , Mohamad Golitaleb  7
Affiliations
Review

Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Firefighters in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Ali Sahebi et al. Iran J Psychiatry. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: Firefighters are exposed to many different chemicals and physical hazards and experience a significant number of accidents and injuries. They are exposed to high-risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of PTSD among Iranian firefighters. Method : This was a systematic review and meta-analysis. Valid Persian and English keywords were searched in data resources, including SID, Magiran, Irandoc, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to retrieve articles on the prevalence of PTSD among Iranian firefighters. The STROBE checklist was used to assess the quality of the articles. Heterogeneity among the studies was assessed by I2 index. The data were analyzed using Stata14 software. Results: Of the 316 articles selected in the initial search, 3 articles the inclusion criteria and were used for the meta-analysis. A total of 274 firefighters were studied. The prevalence of PTSD was 23.17% among Iranian firefighters (I2 = 92.4%, 95% CI = 6.71-39.62, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of PTSD is among Iranian firefighters relatively high and has been on the rise over the recent years.

Keywords: Firefighters; First Responder; Mental Health; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the Selection of Studies Based on PRISMA
Figure 2
Figure 2
The Forest Plot of Overall and Individual PTSD Prevalence in the Included Studies with 95% Confidence Interval
Figure 3
Figure 3
The Meta-Regression Analysis of the Studies Based on the Year of Publication
Figure 4
Figure 4
Publication Bias Based on Egger Test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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