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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Nov;20(9):3906-3921.
doi: 10.1111/iwj.14272. Epub 2023 Jun 9.

Prevalence and incidence of venous leg ulcers-A systematic review and meta-analysis

Sebastian Probst  1   2   3   4 , Camille Saini  1 , Géraldine Gschwind  1 , Alessio Stefanelli  1 , Paul Bobbink  1   5 , Marie-Thérèse Pugliese  1 , Sezen Cekic  6 , Damien Pastor  7 , Georgina Gethin  1   4   8
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence and incidence of venous leg ulcers-A systematic review and meta-analysis

Sebastian Probst et al. Int Wound J. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Venous leg ulcers (VLU) represent a major public health challenge. Little is known about the prevalence and incidence of VLU internationally. Published studies are usually reporting different estimates because of disparities in study designs and measurement methods. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to identify the prevalence and incidence of VLU internationally and to characterise the population as reported in these studies. Studies were identified from searches in Medline (PubMed), CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost), Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, LiSSa (Littérature Scientifique en Santé), Google Scholar and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews up to November 2022. Studies were included if their primary outcomes were reported as a period prevalence or point prevalence or cumulative incidence or incidence VLU rate. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, 10 reporting estimates of prevalence, three reporting both prevalence and incidence estimates and one incidence. All were included in meta-analyses. The results show a pooled prevalence of 0.32% and a pooled incidence of 0.17%. Our results highlighted an extreme heterogeneity across effect sizes for both prevalence and incidence, which prevent a meaningful interpretation of pooled indexes and argue for further studies with specific prevalence-type reported and target population under study.

Keywords: incidence; meta-analysis; prevalence; systematic review; venous leg ulcer.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Prisma flow chart.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Study distribution (funnel plot).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Pooled effect estimated for the prevalence.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Pooled effect estimated for the prevalence in three identified population subgroups.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Pooled effect estimated for the incidence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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