Prevalence of Body Somatic Deformities in Plastic Surgery Patients: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis

Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on restoring, reconstructing, or changing the human body. Somatic deformities (SD) are defined by a distorted impression of one's own body image and are rather frequent. The majority of people with SD have some level of social and vocational impairment, with obsessive concerns about appearance leading to compulsive behaviors and, in more severe situations, suicidal thoughts.

The current study aims to confirm the prevalence of SD in plastic surgery patients using a systematic review of the literature and a meta-analysis.

We have searched for electronic databases with MeSH terms, and the studies for analysis were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and quality assessment. The study was conducted as per the PRISMA guidelines. The pooled prevalence was calculated using fixed and random effect model. The publication bias was assessed qualitatively (funnel plot) as well as quantitatively (Begg, Egger and Harbord tests). All analysis was done using Stats Direct (version 3).

The pooled prevalence of somatic deformities in plastic surgery with 95% confidence interval using random effect model was found to be 0.19 [0.12, 0.27] which indicates a significant association of somatic deformities in plastic surgery. The heterogeneity among studies was found to be high as indicated by Cochran Q (P < 0.0001) and I² tests (98.6%). The qualitative and quantitative analysis has also shown significant involvement of publication bias.

Based on available evidence, there is a significant association of somatic deformities in plastic surgery.

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