The Occurrence Rate of Swallowing Disorders After Stroke Patients in Asia: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract Background Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) is common in stroke patients. However, the epidemiology of post-stroke dysphagia (PSD) is poorly described. We herein synthesize the data of eligible studies on occurrence rate of dysphagia in Asian populations with stroke. Methods We searched the electronic databases (PubMed, Embase and Web of Science) to collect the studies on the prevalence of PSD. We used the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) to estimate the quality of studies. The pooled dysphagia occurrence rate was obtained in Asian stroke patients. Results 40 studies (including 43 observations) from 2318 initial references were selected in the synthetic analysis. The pooled occurrence rate of dysphagia in post-stroke patients was 36.3% (95% CI, 33.3%–39.3%). Meta-regression analysis showed that the “country” and “developing level” may influence the pooled occurrence rate of PSD. Conclusion Dysphagia is common in Asian post-stroke patients. Our meta-analysis may raise concern about evaluating and managing dysphagia in stroke patients.