Non-communicable diseases research output in the Eastern Mediterranean region: an overview of systematic reviews

Abstract

Background: Rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rapidly rising in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Systematic reviews satisfy the demand from practitioners and policy makers for prompt comprehensive evidence. The aim of this study is to review trends in NCD systematic reviews research output and quality by time and place, describe design and focus, and examine gaps in knowledge produced. Methods: Using the Montori et al. systematic reviews filter, MeSH and keywords were applied to search Medline Ovid, Cochrane Central and Epistemonikos for publications from 1996 until 2015 in the 22 countries of the EMR. The 'Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews', AMSTAR, was used to assess the methodological quality of the papers. Results: Our search yielded 2439 papers for abstract and title screening, and 89 papers for full text screening. A total of 39 (43.8%) studies included meta-analysis. Most of the papers were judged as being of low AMSTAR quality (83.2%), and only one paper was judged as being of high AMSTAR quality. Whilst annual number of papers increased over the years, the growth was mainly attributed to an increase in low-quality publications approaching in 2015 over four times the number of medium-quality publications. Reviews were significantly more likely to be characterized by higher AMSTAR scores (±SD) when meta-analysis was performed compared to when meta-analysis was not performed (3.4 ± 1.5 vs 2.6 ± 2.0; p-value = 0.034); and when critical appraisal of the included studies was conducted (4.3 ± 2.3 vs 2.5 ± 1.5; p-value = 0.004). Most of the reviews focused on cancer and diabetes as an outcome (25.8% and 24.7%, respectively), and on smoking, dietary habits and physical activity as exposures (15.7%, 12.4%, 9.0%, respectively). There was a blatant deficit in reviews examining associations between behaviors and physiologic factors, notably metabolic conditions. Conclusions: Systematic reviews research in the EMR region are overwhelmingly of low quality, with gaps in the literature for studies on cardiovascular disease and on associations between behavioral factors and intermediary physiologic parameters. This study raises awareness of the need for high-quality evidence guided by locally driven research agenda responsive to emerging needs in countries of the EMR.

Public Health Surveillance Systems in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Bibliometric Analysis of Scientific Literature

“…Similarly, in 2016, there was a surge in influenza-related publications, which coincides with the official launch of the Eastern Mediterranean Flu Network, which is a web-based surveillance effort supervised by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean to strengthen influenza surveillance systems in the region [ 32 ]. With the increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) both worldwide and in the region, there has also been an increasing interest in NCD research [ 33 ], which might explain the peak in publications in recent years. As for the year 2020, the explosion in publications echoes the scientific frenzy witnessed with the commence of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which took the lead and contributed massively to the literature at both the global and regional levels [ 34 , 35 ].…”

Impact of SAFAR Air Quality Forecasting Framework and Advisory Services in Reducing the Economic Health Burden of India

“…A systematic review was conducted to identify all published studies on major respiratory Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) (Nethan et al, 2017;Nunes et al, 2017;Rehr et al, 2018;Salvi et al, 2018;Akkawi et al, 2020;Hadei et al, 2020;Pandey et al, 2021;Rehman et al, 2021) to understand the cost implications. Overview of the cost reported in studies by different researchers has been depicted in Table 2.…”

Assessing service providers’ satisfaction with the chronic diseases package provided through the National Health Insurance Fund in Sudan

“…A projection for the upcoming 10 years done by the World Health Organization for the globally increase of NCDs deaths is 17%. In the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) will be (25-27%), which constitute the second major increase, now in the most countries the age-standardized death-rate is over 300 per 100,000 that have high burden over the health system (3) The burden of chronic diseases is growing significantly. Moreover, due to the chronic nature of these diseases, most patients were under the poverty line due to the high and continuous demand for healthcare (4) In Sudan, chronic diseases account for 52% of all deaths.…”