Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Anemia Among Pregnant Iranian Women (2005 - 2015)

Context: Anemia is a common, global health problem that has short-term and long-term effects during pregnancy. Several studies have been conducted on the prevalence of anemia among pregnant Iranian women in the last 10 years (2005-2015). The current study evaluated the prevalence of anemia among pregnant Iranian women in this time period..
Evidence Acquisition: The current study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist. Searches for relevant literature were conducted on scientific databases such as the Iranian journal database (Magiran), Iranian biomedical journal database (IranMedex), the scientific information database (SID), global medical article Limberly (Medlib), IranDoc, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Springer, Web of Science, Wiley online library, and Google Scholar. All population-based studies and national surveys that reported on the prevalence of anemia among pregnant Iranian women published between January 1st, 2005 and December 31st, 2015 were included. All related articles were considered based on inclusion criteria. Using a random effects model, data were analyzed through STATA software (ver.11.1)..
Eighteen articles with a combined sample size of 51,521 were investigated. The prevalence of anemia in pregnant Iranian women was estimated at 17.9% (CI: 95%; 14.7 - 21.1). The highest and lowest percentages were reported in Iran’s central (24.9%) and western (6.3%) parts, respectively. The prevalence of anemia among rural (17.6%) and urban (22.1%) pregnant Iranian women was also determined..
The prevalence of anemia among pregnant Iranian women has increased in the last 10 years. Therefore, appropriate intervention plans, including training in proper nutrition during pregnancy and training in the correct use of iron, vitamins, and folic acid supplements, should be arranged and performed in prenatal clinics or before marriage..