Andrea M L Bussé1, Hans L J Hoeve1, Kazem Nasserinejad2, Allison R Mackey3, Huibert J Simonsz1, André Goedegebure1. 1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery and Department of Ophthalmology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 2. Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 3. CLINTEC, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the variance in reported prevalence rates of permanent neonatal hearing impairment (HI) worldwide.Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on reported prevalence rates of sensorineural and permanent conductive or mixed HI worse than 40 dB in neonates, detected as a result of a screening programme or audiometric study.Study sample: For meta-analysis, 35 articles were selected, 25 from high-income countries and 10 from middle-income countries according to the world bank classification system. Results: The prevalence rate of permanent uni- and bilateral HI worse than 40 dB in neonates varied from 1 to 6 per 1000, the overall prevalence was 2.21 per 1000 [1.71, 2.8]. In NICU populations the prevalence rate was higher with a larger fraction of bilateral cases. Although not significant, prevalence rates were slightly higher in Asia compared to Europe and the number of infants lost to follow-up appeared higher in countries with lower gross national income. Conclusion: Substantial variations exist in prevalence rates of neonatal permanent HI across countries and regions. There is a strong need for more data from low-income countries to identify demographic factors that account for this variability in reported prevalence rates. Reporting these data in a uniform way is advocated.
Objective: To investigate the variance in reported prevalence rates of permanent neonatal hearing impairment (HI) worldwide.Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on reported prevalence rates of sensorineural and permanent conductive or mixed HI worse than 40 dB in neonates, detected as a result of a screening programme or audiometric study.Study sample: For meta-analysis, 35 articles were selected, 25 from high-income countries and 10 from middle-income countries according to the world bank classification system. Results: The prevalence rate of permanent uni- and bilateral HI worse than 40 dB in neonates varied from 1 to 6 per 1000, the overall prevalence was 2.21 per 1000 [1.71, 2.8]. In NICU populations the prevalence rate was higher with a larger fraction of bilateral cases. Although not significant, prevalence rates were slightly higher in Asia compared to Europe and the number of infants lost to follow-up appeared higher in countries with lower gross national income. Conclusion: Substantial variations exist in prevalence rates of neonatal permanent HI across countries and regions. There is a strong need for more data from low-income countries to identify demographic factors that account for this variability in reported prevalence rates. Reporting these data in a uniform way is advocated.
Authors: Allison R Mackey; Andrea M L Bussé; Valeria Del Vecchio; Elina Mäki-Torkko; Inger M Uhlén Journal: BMC Pediatr Date: 2022-08-05 Impact factor: 2.567