Prevalence of tuberculosis, hepatitis C virus, and HIV in homeless people: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The Lancet Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1016/s1473-3099(12)70177-9
- PMID
- 22914343
- PMCID
- PMC3494003
- OpenAlex
- W2123783128
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
Reliable epidemiological metrics facilitate evidence-based health policy development, resource allocation, and tailored clinical service planning for vulnerable housing groups.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The investigation seeks to quantify the global prevalence rates of tuberculosis, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus within homeless populations.
Study design
The research utilizes a systematic review and meta-analytic framework to synthesize existing cross-sectional prevalence surveys.
Population and setting
The analysis aggregates data from forty-three independent surveys encompassing approximately sixty thousand unique homeless individuals across diverse geographic regions.
Main findings
Pooled estimates revealed broad prevalence intervals for tuberculosis ranging from zero point two to seven point seven percent, hepatitis C virus between three point nine and thirty-six point two percent, and HIV infection spanning zero point three to twenty-one point one percent. Statistical testing indicated considerable variability across the compiled datasets for all three conditions.
Public-health relevance
Reliable epidemiological metrics facilitate evidence-based health policy development, resource allocation, and tailored clinical service planning for vulnerable housing groups.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation. Additionally, pronounced statistical heterogeneity across the included surveys restricts definitive global generalizations and highlights reliance on regional data.
GIDS interpretation
The publication offers contextual epidemiological framing for specific infectious agents within homeless demographics, supporting literature discovery and thematic classification without implying synchronization with active monitoring networks.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.