Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Diabetic peripheral neuropathy in Sri lanka

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus and a major cause of pain, foot ulceration, amputation, and reduced quality of life. Sri Lanka has a high and rising burden of diabetes, while current studies reflect a wide variance regarding the reported prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, largely due to differences in diagnostic methods, populations, and study settings. A comprehensive and unrestricted electronic search shall be conducted on prominent sources for health science evidence synthesis, such as PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The result will be limited to publications in the English peer-reviewed literature that involve observational studies on the prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy among diabetic patients in Sri Lanka. Two team members shall independently assess studies for inclusion, extract data, and assess methodological quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for studies on prevalence. A random effects meta-analysis shall be performed to calculate the pooled prevalence along with 95% confidence intervals, while heterogeneity shall be explored via subgroup analyses or sensitivity analyses, as appropriate. The meta-analysis will provide a pooled estimate of the prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy among patients with diabetes in Sri Lanka. Through this approach, there will be a focus on raising awareness about the burden of this diabetic complication. Also, there will be a focus on understanding the origins of heterogeneity between studies, including differences in diagnostic methods, study settings, and populations. The overall expected outcome of the proposed study will be used to provide guidance on strategies aimed at early screening, foot care, and prevention of complications among diabetic patients in Sri Lanka. The protocol has been developed following guidelines set by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Protocols (PRISMA-P) and PRISMA-S Statement guidelines regarding the reporting of literature searches. The protocol has been prospectively registered with the Open Science Framework (OSF).