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Review
. 2025;18(1):10-20.
doi: 10.22037/ghfbb.v18i1.3046.

Prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in Iranian adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or liver disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis

Ehsaneh Taheri  1 , Behzad Hatami  1 , Fatemeh Baghalha  2 , Sara Ashtari  1 , Zahra Nosrati  3 , Mohammad Reza Zali  1
Affiliations
Review

Prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in Iranian adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or liver disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis

Ehsaneh Taheri et al. Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2025.

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) among Iranian adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or liver disorders.

Background: PSC is a rare and chronic liver disease characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, and intra- and/or extrahepatic bile duct structure.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. The Web of Science, Scopus, Pubmed, Embase, Google Scholar, and local databases, including the IranDoc, IranMedex, SID, and MagIran databases, were searched for studies published before 6th February 2023 for the prevalence of PSC among Iranian adults.

Results: In total, 22 articles involving 19,747 Iranian participants were included in this meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of PSC was 8% (95% CI: 5%-12%). Additionally, the prevalence of PSC stratified by gender was calculated based on four studies (n = 1402). The pooled prevalence of PSC was estimated to be 20% (95% CI: 11-31%) in males and 12% (95% CI: 3-38%) in females. The pooled prevalence of PSC was 6% (95% CI: 4-9%) in patients with IBD and 14% (95% CI: 8-23%) in patients with liver transplantation (LT).

Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of PSC was 8% in Iranian adults, and the prevalence was greater in males than in females.

Keywords: Iran; Meta-analysis; Prevalence; Primary sclerosing cholangitis; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the literature selection process
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of PSC among Iranian adults
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of PSC among Iranian adults by gender
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of PSC among Iranian adults with concurrent disease
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of PSC among Iranian adults by region
Figure 6
Figure 6
Funnel plot showing the risk of bias for PSC incidence and standard error in Iran
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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