Prevalence of Head Injury in South Asian Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Community-based Surveys.

BACKGROUND: Head injury (HI) places a significant burden on survivors, leading to long-term disability. However, limited studies have investigated its prevalence in South Asian countries. OBJECTIVES: Perform a systematic review to identify community-based surveys reporting the prevalence of HI in South Asia and to conduct a meta-analysis to derive pooled prevalence estimates for the region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, Ovid, PubMed, and Web of Science following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology and Risk of Bias Tool for Prevalence Studies, respectively. The analysis was carried out using the latest version of R software (4.4.0). RESULTS: Twenty-one studies assessing general, pediatric, and older adult populations were included; the overall prevalence of the general population of HI in South Asia was estimated to be 12/1000 persons. Sri Lanka had the lowest prevalence score for HI (0.6/1000 persons), whereas India had the highest (16.1/1000 persons). Prevalence of HI in the pediatric population was 60/1000 persons and in older adults was 47.2/1000 persons. The prevalence of HI was higher in males than in females, and urban residents scored higher than rural residents. CONCLUSION: The study sheds light on the current status of HI prevalence in South Asia. Therefore, improvement in community awareness and treatment facilities is needed to be implemented to control HI fatalities.