Prevalence of Sickle Cell and Sickle Cell Trait Among Children and Adolescents in Nigeria: A Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Prospero ID: CRD42024556354)

Abstract

Background

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic disorders globally, with Nigeria believed to have the highest burden in the whole world. Despite the high burden in the country, the true prevalence of SCD, as well as its main driver- sickle cell trait (SCT) is unknown. These parameters are important for planning and resource allocation.

Objective: To review the prevalence of SCD, SCT and associated factors in Nigerian children and adolescents.

Methods: The search strategy will include MeSH terms, keywords, and entry words from the following databases: AJOL, Google Scholar, Research Gate, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Web of Science collections. Studies among children and adolescents in Nigeria that report the prevalence of SCD and/or SCT available in English will be included. The primary outcome will be pooled prevalence of sickle cell disease (SCD) and sickle cell trait (SCT) among children and adolescents in Nigeria, while the secondary outcome will be regional and gender variations and associated factors of SCD in Nigeria. All identified articles will be screened, and those that meet the inclusion criteria will be included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. All the studies will be assessed for methodological and statistical heterogeneity. The National Institute of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool for observational studies and the Cochrane tool of risk of bias will be used to assess the quality of selected studies, and publication bias will further be assessed with a funnel plot. 

Results: Using random effect models, results will be presented as pooled and regional prevalence along a 95% confidence interval, while odds ratio and 95% will be used to summarise effects size association. A cumulative meta-analysis will assess the time trend, pooled, regional prevalence and variations.