Health effects of desert dust and sand storms: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Desert dust concentrations raise concerns about adverse effects on human health. During the last decade, special attention has been given to mineral dust particles from desert dust and sand storms. However, evidence from previous reviews reported inconclusive results on their health effects and the biological mechanism remains unclear. We aim to systematically synthesise evidence on the health effects of desert dust and sand storms accounting for the relevant desert dust patterns from source areas and emissions, transport and composition.

We will conduct a systematic review that investigated the health effects of desert dust and sand storms in any population. The search will be performed for any eligible studies from previous reviews and selected electronic databases until 2018. Study selection and reporting will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Data from individual studies will be extracted using a standardised data extraction form. Quality of the studies will be assessed using a risk of bias tool for environmental exposures developed by experts convened by the WHO. A meta-analysis will be performed by calculating the appropriate effect measures of association for binary and continuous outcomes from individual studies. Subgroup analyses will be performed by geographical areas to account for desert dust patterns.

No primary data will be collected. For this reason, no formal ethical approval is required. This systematic review will help to fill the research gaps in the knowledge of desert dust on human health. The results will be disseminated through a WHO peer-reviewed publication and a conference presentation.

CRD42018091809.