Occurrence of the white striping and wooden breast in broiler chickens: Systematic review and meta-analysis

The accelerated growth of broiler chickens associated with different factors can lead to pectoral myopathy. The objective of the study was to review and analyze all the information related to the incidence and prevalence of White striping (WS) and wooden breast (WB) in broiler chickens through systematic review and meta-analysis based on the current literature. For this purpose, different studies were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria for a systematic review and, consequently, meta-analysis to obtain an average occurrence value. The evaluated studies corresponded to in-vivo studies obtaining a population of 125,722 broiler chickens, considering both sexes, a genetic line designed for meat production, complete productive age from 1 to 42 days, and broiler chickens raised under commercial conditions. The Meta Essentials software was used, which allowed the calculations to be made. Heterogeneity was analyzed using Cochrane’s Q statistic and Higgins’s I². The distribution of homogeneity through the funnel plot. The bias of the publications using the Egger statistics with a significance level of 0.005 and the weighting of the articles using the Forest plot. The occurrence for WS was 62%, and for WB was 42%. There is a need to establish a standardized diagnostic test to objectively confirm the presence and/or severity of both diseases and reduce biases.