SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Endocrinol.

Sec. Bone Research

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1517168

Global Prevalence Estimates of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Rui  WengRui Weng1,2*Haiwei  GuoHaiwei Guo1Le  MaLe Ma1Tianye  LinTianye Lin1Wenjun  HanWenjun Han1Xianxing  ZhongXianxing Zhong1Caijun  LiuCaijun Liu1Genfu  ZhuGenfu Zhu1Yikai  LiYikai Li2Xuecheng  HuangXuecheng Huang3
  • 1The Third Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
  • 2Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  • 3Shenzhen Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine(Futian), Shenzhen, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the global prevalence of DISH.Methods: Three electronic medical databases (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, and Embase) were used to conduct a systematic review of population-based and clinical-based studies reporting the prevalence of DISH from the time of commencement to February 2023. "Prevalence or epidemiology" and "diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis or DISH" were the search terms used. There were no language restrictions. Extract data based on features such as continent, gender, age, and race. Quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Tool for Prevalence Data Reporting Studies from the Joanna Briggs Institute, which synthesizes the available evidence using a random effects model.Results: Among the 33 studies, the overall estimated prevalence of DISH in the general population (n=36925) was 11.92% (95% CI, 8.68%-15.59%), and the overall prevalence of DISH in clinical patients (n=22969) was about 14.30% (95%CI, 10.10%-19.09%). In 17 population-based studies, the prevalence of DISH was 10.07% (95% CI, 6.76%-13.95%) in Asia, 11.16% (95% CI, 6.19%-17.36%) in Europe, 13.46% in North America (95%CI, 12.20%-14.77%) and 30.07% (95%CI, 25.90%-34.49%) in Oceania. The overall prevalence of DISH by sex was 6.49% (95%CI, 3.65%-10.07%) in women and 17.87% (95%CI, 13.27%-22.98%) in men.The prevalence rate of Asians was 10.07% (95%CI, 6.76%-13.95%), that of white people was 11.90% (95%CI, 7.62%-16.98%), and that of black people was 8.77% (95%CI, 6.39%-11.67%). In 16 clinic-based studies, the prevalence of DISH was 16.32% (95%CI, 10.10%-23.67%) in Asia, 13.20% (95%CI, 9.89%-16.92%) in Europe, and 13.13%(95%CI, 3.79%-26.93%) in North America and 3.93% in Africa.According to gender classification, the overall prevalence of DISH was 10.16% (95%CI, 6.59%-14.38%) in women and 18.73% (95%CI, 12.84%-25.44%) in men.The prevalence rate of Asians was 16.45% (95%CI, 7.45%-28.05%), that of white people was 14.95% (95%CI, 10.28%-20.31%), and that of black people was 5.71% (95%CI, 2.57%-9.98%).This study identifies the global prevalence of DISH in terms of population distribution, space, and time. The overall prevalence of DISH was approximately 11.92% (95%CI, 8.68%-15.59%) in the general population and 14.30% (95% CI, 10.10%-19.09%) in clinical patients. The prevalence of DISH was higher in males, and those aged 50 and over.

Keywords: Global prevalence, Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, Systematic review, Meta-analysis, dish

Received: 06 Dec 2024; Accepted: 16 Apr 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Weng, Guo, Ma, Lin, Han, Zhong, Liu, Zhu, Li and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Rui Weng, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.