Abstract
BACKGROUND: Bronchiectasis, once considered an orphan disease, is receiving attention globally owing to its increasing prevalence, healthcare burden, and associated morbidity. However, the prevalence of bronchiectasis is unclear. This meta-analysis estimates the prevalence of bronchiectasis in adults, providing a valuable reference for future research. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched from inception to May 31, 2024 for studies reporting the prevalence of bronchiectasis. Study selection, data extraction, and overall analysis of risk of the retrieved studies were conducted independently by two authors. The tool for assessing the risk of bias in prevalence studies was used to evaluate overall risk. Stata software (version 15.1) was used to performed the meta-analysis. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to identify the source of heterogeneity. Funnel plots combined with Egger's test were used to detect publication bias. RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of bronchiectasis in adults from 15 studies covering 437,851,478 individuals was 680 per 100,000 (95% CI: 634-727 per 100,000). Subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of bronchiectasis in the United States, Korea, and China was 478 per 100,000 (95% CI: 367-588 per 100,000), 886 per 100,000 (95% CI: 778-993 per 100,000), and 759 per 100,000 (95% CI: 35-2399 per 100,000), respectively; 467 per 100,000 (95% CI: 416-518 per 100,000) in males and 535 per 100,000 (95% CI: 477-592 per 100,000) in females; 3958 per 100,000 (95% CI: 117-12637 per 100,000), 4677 per 100,000 (95% CI: 427-8928 per 100,000), and 3630 per 100,000 (95% CI: 158-7103 per 100,000) among never-smokers, ever-smokers, and current smokers, respectively; 430 per 100,000 (95% CI: 411-450 per 100,000), 380 per 100,000 (95% CI: 374-386 per 100,000), and 351 per 100,000 (95% CI: 342-360 per 100,000) among individuals with body mass index<18.5, 18.5-24.9, and ≥ 25, respectively. Sixteen comorbidities were evaluated in patients with bronchiectasis, revealing a high rate. CONCLUSION: Bronchiectasis is not a rare disease and requires more attention from scientific researchers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol for this review was registered with PROSPERO: CRD42023409216. Registered 26 June 2023.