Prevalence of HIV and syphilis infections among long-distance truck drivers in China: a data synthesis and meta-analysis

By 2009, 46 national sentinel surveillance sites had been established for long-distance truck drivers (LDTDs) in China, but the overall disease burden of HIV and syphilis among LDTDs has remained unclear. This study aimed to summarize the prevalence levels of these infections from available published peer-reviewed studies through a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. Forty-six eligible articles were selected in this review. The pooled prevalence estimates of HIV and syphilis among Chinese LDTDs during 1995-2010 were 0.19% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15-0.24%) and 0.86% (95% CI 0.70-1.06%), respectively, corresponding to a 3.33 (95% CI 2.40-4.62) and 1.65 (95% CI 1.35-2.03) times higher risk of infection among LDTDs than the general Chinese population. However, these infection risks were much lower than those of LDTDs in other developing country settings and at-risk groups in China. Current surveillance resources have been disproportionately focused on LDTDs and should be diverted to other at-risk groups.