The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy in Iran (1991-2015): A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aims: The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in pregnant women is in Variable between 40-80% in developing countries. There are some differences among different studies on this disorder. So, this present study is been performed for evaluating the prevalence of IDA among pregnant Iranians with systematic review and meta-analysis method. Methods: This study is based on received information achieved from Magiran, Iranmedex, SID, Med Lib, Iran Doc, Scopus, Pubmed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Embase, Medline, Springer, Online Library Wiley and Google Scholar in chronological order of 1 January 1991 to 31 march 2015 with using standard key words. Search and extraction of data were done by two independent reviewers. Using random effects model and meta-analysis, the data were analyzed through SPSS. Results: In the 32 eligible studies, the 63372 individuals have been evaluated. The prevalence of anemia among pregnant Iranians was estimated to be 14.2% (95%  CI: 12-16.3%). Most prevalence of anemia was seen in the study, the samples of which were collected in several parts of country, (21.5%) and the lowest prevalence was seen in the West of the country (7%). The prevalence of anemia in urban and rural pregnant women was estimated 13.7% and 20% approximately, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia among pregnant Iranians in the recent 24 years according to WHO system reported to be low in developing countries, that it was related to appropriate planning and caring in pregnancy period in countries.