Abstract:
Background: Hyperbilirubinaemia is a silent cause of newborn disease and death worldwide.
However, studies of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa are highly variable with respect to its
prevalence. Hence, this study aimed to estimate the overall magnitude of neonatal
hyperbilirubinaemia and its association with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)
deficiency and blood-type incompatibility in sub-Saharan Africa.
Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Review were systematically
searched online to retrieve hyperbilirubinaemia-related articles. All observational studies
reported the prevalence of hyperbilirubinaemia in sub-Saharan Africa were included for analysis
and excluded if the study failed to determine the desired outcome. The Preferred Reporting Items
for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Heterogeneity across the
included studies was evaluated using the inconsistency index (I2
). Subgroup and meta- regression
analysis were also done. Publication bias was examined by funnel plot and the Egger's regression
test. The random-effect model was fitted to estimate the pooled prevalence of neonatal
hyperbilirubinaemia. The meta-analysis was performed using the STATA V.14 software.
Results: A total of 30 486 studies were collected from the different databases and 10 articles
were included for the final analysis. The overall magnitude of neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia was
28.08% (95% CI20.23 to 35.94, I2
=83.2) in sub-Saharan Africa. Neonates with G6PD deficiency
(OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.64 to 3.56, I2
=37%) and neonates that had a blood type that was
incompatible with their mother's (OR 3.3, (95% CI 1.96 to 5.72, I2
=84%) were more likely to
develop hyperbilirubinaemia.
Conclusion: The failure to prevent and screen G6PD deficiency and blood-type incompatibility
with their mother's results in high burden of neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia in sub-Saharan Africa.
Therefore, early identification and care strategies should be developed to the affected neonates
with G6PD deficiency and blood-type incompatibility with their mother's to address long-term
medical and scholastic damages among those exposed to hyperbilirubinaemia.
