Abstract
BACKGROUND: In Africa, asthma and wheezing are major health issues for children. There is a dearth of prior research examining the prevalence of asthma and wheezing in both preschool and school-aged African children. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of asthma and wheezing in African infants and children aged 0 month to 8 years. METHODS: We conducted a thorough electronic search of Academic Search Complete, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Web of Science to find papers published between January 2012 and July 2023. We reviewed only research that was published in English. Independently, two review authors examined the studies, extracted the data, and evaluated the research studies. A fixed effects model and STATA 17 software were used. Using I (2), heterogeneity was assessed. RESULTS: We considered 10 papers from Africa that examined the prevalence of asthma and/or wheezing in preschool and school-aged children. Asthma prevalence ranged from 1.70% to 20.85% (n = 7 134 total participants), with a meta-analysis showing an overall prevalence of 4.41% (95% CI: 3.95-4.87), with no heterogeneity (I (2) < 0). The historical prevalence rate of wheezing ranged from 4.71% to 67.72% (n = 8769 total participants), with a meta-analysis revealing an overall prevalence of 22.91% (95% CI: 22.12-23.70), with no heterogeneity (I (2) < 0) and no significant differences observed between studies. CONCLUSIONS: Asthma and wheezing are prevalent among African preschool and school-aged children, highlighting the need for comprehensive and localized research to address this public health issue.