Investigating the Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain Among Iranian Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Context: Musculoskeletal pain is very common among students and adolescents. Objectives: The present systematic review and meta-analysis study aimed to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among Iranian children and adolescents. Data Sources, Study Selection, and Data Extraction: All articles on the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in Iranian adolescents were searched in the Google Scholar, four Iranian databases and five international English-language databases using the keywords of "pain", "musculoskeletal disorders", "low back pain", "adolescents", "students", and a combination of these keywords. The obtained data were analyzed by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. Results: The findings showed that out of 9 studies found in this systematic review and meta-analysis, 6 articles were about low back pain, 6 articles about neck pain, and 3 articles about shoulder pain, respectively. According to the findings, 25.4% (95% CI: 19.0 to 33.0) of the children experienced pain; the prevalence rates of low back pain, knee pain, and the shoulder pain were 26.2% (95% CI: 14.3 to 43.0), 22% (95% CI: 14.5 to 32.0), and 29.3% (95% CI: 20.1 to 40.7) in Iranian adolescents, respectively. Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of pain among Iranian adolescents, it is necessary to carry out appropriate interventions for pain prevention among this age group.