This study aims to determine the prevalence of low birth weight in Iranian infants through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
A meta-analysis was performed in this study. The studies relevant to the topic have been obtained through search in Scopus, ScienceDirect, SID, Magiran, Barakat Knowledge Network System, Medline (PubMed), and Google Scholar. The index has assessed the studies’ heterogeneity, and data analysis was done using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software.
By investigating 14 articles and 93924 infants, the total prevalence of low birth weight in infants in Iran was achieved at 8.5% according to the meta-analysis; the most majority of low birth weight was in infants in Hamedan at 19.1% in 2007, and the lowest prevalence of low birth weight was in infants in Tonekabon at 4.2% in 2005, and also, by increasing the sample size, the majority of low birth weight increases, by which the difference is statistically significant.
The study concluded that health policy-makers must make effective attempts to reduce it in infants due to the high prevalence of low birth weight in infants in Iran.
Reference: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jp/2020/3686471/
