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Prevalence of chronic wounds in the general population : systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Martinengo, Laura ; Olsson, Maja ; Bajpai, Ram ; Soljak, Michael ; Upton, Zee ; Schmidtchen, Artur LU ; Car, Josip and Järbrink, Krister (2019) In Annals of Epidemiology 29. p.8-15
Abstract

Purpose: Chronic wounds are a major public health challenge, but little is known about the true burden with studies reporting different estimates because of disparities in study designs and measurement methods. This hampers efficient resource allocation, planning, and improvement of wound care. Methods: Our study aimed to pool prevalence estimates from a global perspective by systematically carrying out searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, Global Health, and PsycINFO databases for articles reporting the prevalence of chronic wounds in adults, from January 2000 to June 2018. The included publications had to define wound chronicity by duration (≥3 weeks), and/or labeling the wounds as chronic, complex, or hard-to-heal. Results:... (More)

Purpose: Chronic wounds are a major public health challenge, but little is known about the true burden with studies reporting different estimates because of disparities in study designs and measurement methods. This hampers efficient resource allocation, planning, and improvement of wound care. Methods: Our study aimed to pool prevalence estimates from a global perspective by systematically carrying out searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, Global Health, and PsycINFO databases for articles reporting the prevalence of chronic wounds in adults, from January 2000 to June 2018. The included publications had to define wound chronicity by duration (≥3 weeks), and/or labeling the wounds as chronic, complex, or hard-to-heal. Results: Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, and 11 studies analyzing chronic wounds in the general population were included in random effects meta-analyses to calculate pooled prevalence. Chronic wounds of mixed etiologies (n = 3) showed a pooled prevalence of 2.21 per 1000 population, and for chronic leg ulcers (n = 9), the prevalence was estimated at 1.51 per 1000 population. Conclusions: Our findings, aligned to previous studies reporting point prevalence of chronic wounds identified within the healthcare system, showed that the vast majority of chronic wounds in epidemiological studies are made up by chronic leg ulcers.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Chronic wounds, Complex wounds, Hard-to-heal ulcers, Meta-analysis, Prevalence, Systematic review
in
Annals of Epidemiology
volume
29
pages
8 - 15
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:30497932
  • scopus:85057090460
ISSN
1047-2797
DOI
10.1016/j.annepidem.2018.10.005
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
debe22dd-9274-4025-a4ab-0ba15521c26a
date added to LUP
2018-12-05 10:45:02
date last changed
2024-04-15 18:44:17
@article{debe22dd-9274-4025-a4ab-0ba15521c26a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Purpose: Chronic wounds are a major public health challenge, but little is known about the true burden with studies reporting different estimates because of disparities in study designs and measurement methods. This hampers efficient resource allocation, planning, and improvement of wound care. Methods: Our study aimed to pool prevalence estimates from a global perspective by systematically carrying out searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, Global Health, and PsycINFO databases for articles reporting the prevalence of chronic wounds in adults, from January 2000 to June 2018. The included publications had to define wound chronicity by duration (≥3 weeks), and/or labeling the wounds as chronic, complex, or hard-to-heal. Results: Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, and 11 studies analyzing chronic wounds in the general population were included in random effects meta-analyses to calculate pooled prevalence. Chronic wounds of mixed etiologies (n = 3) showed a pooled prevalence of 2.21 per 1000 population, and for chronic leg ulcers (n = 9), the prevalence was estimated at 1.51 per 1000 population. Conclusions: Our findings, aligned to previous studies reporting point prevalence of chronic wounds identified within the healthcare system, showed that the vast majority of chronic wounds in epidemiological studies are made up by chronic leg ulcers.</p>}},
  author       = {{Martinengo, Laura and Olsson, Maja and Bajpai, Ram and Soljak, Michael and Upton, Zee and Schmidtchen, Artur and Car, Josip and Järbrink, Krister}},
  issn         = {{1047-2797}},
  keywords     = {{Chronic wounds; Complex wounds; Hard-to-heal ulcers; Meta-analysis; Prevalence; Systematic review}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{8--15}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Annals of Epidemiology}},
  title        = {{Prevalence of chronic wounds in the general population : systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2018.10.005}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.annepidem.2018.10.005}},
  volume       = {{29}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}