The prevalence of Barrett 's esophagus in Iranian patients with gastrointestinal symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a premalignant columnar metaplasia of the esophagus that predisposes victims to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Depending on differences in the study population and risk factors, the prevalence of BE may vary, from 0.4 to 20% globally. The current study aimed to systematically review and analyse the prevalence of BE in in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms in Iran. Furthermore, gastrointestinal malignancies are among the most common tumours in Iran, making this study even more significant. Methods A systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EMBASE as well as some domestic databases including SID, Magiran, IranDoc, IranMedex from inception to the end of 2023. We included all cross-sectional studies which reported the prevalence of BE and calculated pooled prevalence. Results The results of the analysis, including 9 studies in a total of 4978 cases (213 Barret diagnoses), revealed that by the results of these studies, the prevalence of Barret's esophagus is 4.4% [I2 = 94.9% [92.2%; 96.6%]/p-value < 0.0001]. Subgroup analysis, divided by region and year, revealed significant differences between groups. Conclusions The epidemiology of BE in Iran is not completely identified. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the prevalence and of BE in Iran. Due to the importance of BE in progressing to esophageal adenocarcinoma, much importance should be given to its timely diagnosis. It is strongly recommended to conduct more comprehensive studies including more patients in this field.