Title:Investigation of Prevalence and Complications of Female Genital Circumcision: A Systematic and Meta-analytic Review Study
Volume: 17
Issue: 2
Author(s): Sara Abdoli, Seyedeh Zahra Masoumi*Ensiyeh Jenabi
Affiliation:
- Mother and Child Care Research Center, Midwifery Department, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan,Iran
Keywords:
Female circumcision, clitorectomy, prevalence, complications, meta-analysis, systematic review.
Abstract:
Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the complications of circumcision
and determine its prevalence in the studied areas.
Methods: In this study, the electronic databases of Scopus, PubMed, SID, Web of Science and Magiran
were selected to search the total population of observational studies published in Persian and
English on the prevalence and circumcision complications in girls. The keywords searched for this
purpose were as follows: female genital mutilation, Infibulations, Epidemiologic Methods, Clitorectomies,
Female Circumcision, Clitorectomy, Clitoridectomy Complications, Prevalence, associated
disease, coexistent conditions, and sequels associated with concomitant conditions, and coexistent
disease and their Persian equivalent words. Prevalence estimates of all studies were pooled using a
random-effects model at a confidence level of 95%. The bias in the published results of the studies
and any reporting errors were examined using Begg and Egger’s statistical tests. Out of 3756
studies, 45 articles were included in the study after excluding irrelevant and repetitive articles.
Results: After reviewing the articles in this field, it was determined that female genital mutilation
has sexual complications, problems during childbirth, physical and psychological complications.
The prevalence of female genital circumcision in the world and Iran in the study areas was obtained
using the random effect model, which was estimated to be 61% (95%, CI = 0.49, 0.73) and
61% (95%, CI = 0.52, 0.70), respectively. In other areas, the prevalence was reported to be close to
zero. In total, among different countries of the world, of the 207,709 participants surveyed,
110,596 had undergone female genital circumcision (110,596 of 207,709).
Conclusion: The effects of female genital mutilation on girls are high and require government intervention
in various countries.
