Abstract
Background and objectives : Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease. Generally, the Mediterranean basin is the region where the first cases of FMF have been identified. Yearly, some people undergo unnecessary surgery, due to misdiagnosis of doctors. In this study, our aim was to determine the prevalence rate and status of familial Mediterranean fever in the world and Iran which was done using meta-analysis method.
Material and Methods : In this study, Google Scholar, Pubmed, Medline, Ovid, IranMedex, Irandoc, SID, Magiran databases and published written sources were searched without limit of time. Then, all the studies were collected without limitation, to determine the relevant studies were assessed. After verifying the quality of the studies, required data were extracted and analyzed using the method of meta-analysis (random effects model) in the CMA software. In the end, world map of the prevalence of familial Mediterranean fever disease was traced by the GIS software.
Results : The primary search identified 400 studies which only 23 studies had the required quality for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Two of the studies were related to Iran.The results of the meta-analysis showed that the overall prevalence rate of familial Mediterranean fever in the world and in Iran along with their 95% confidence intervals (in parentheses) are 0.116% (0.088 - 0.144) and 0.018% (0.001 - 0.037), respectively. Since the studies were limited, the overall prevalence rate obtained from Iran does not have the capability of generalization to other regions of Iran.
Conclusion : FMF in the world is prevalent in the Mediterranean and the Middle East region, among ethnic Turks, Armenians, Jews and Arabs, respectively. But FMF epidemiology is rapidly changing, due to population migrations from Mediterranean countries and the Middle East to the rest of the world and the increasing diagnostic sensitivity. The FMF has to be considered as a worldwide disease, even if it initially originated in the Mediterranean area.