Osteoarthritis as a silent threat to the health of Iranians: A systematic review

Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal disease and accounts for a large share of the burden of non-communicable diseases in Iran. The present systematic review examined the prevalence in different regions and types of OA in Iran. In this systematic review, we searched English and Persian research databases, such as Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science (WoS), Scientific Information Database (SID), IranMedex, Magiran, and IranDoc between 2000 and 2024. After removing duplicates, two authors independently evaluated the titles, abstracts, and full texts. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist was used to check the quality of the studies. We analyzed the extracted data using a narrative synthesis. After screening identified records, 13 articles were selected for analysis. About 39.02% of the studied population were men and 60.98% were women. The average age of the participants in these studies was 43.23 ± 15.04 years. The highest prevalence of the disease was observed in the knee with 28.7%. Women were 3.11% to 28.7% more likely than men to suffer from OA. Because the incidence of OA is increasing significantly, especially among women, it is recommended to take effective measures in the primary healthcare program and offer various service packages to improve women’s health. Additionally, health programs and policies aimed at non-surgical treatments and educational interventions are needed to reduce the burden of OA in Iran.