ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1588496
Global, regional, and national anemia burden among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) from 1990 to 2021: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sanya, China
- 2Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
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Background: Anemia remains a significant global health challenge, disproportionately affecting women of reproductive age (WRA, 15 to 49 years) due to physiological and socioeconomic factors.However, there is a lack of high-quality data on anemia burden and causes analysis in this population. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive global assessment of anemia burden and its underlying causes among WRA.Methods: Using data from the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD) 2021, we evaluated the prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), and underlying causes of anemia among WRA at global, regional, and national levels. We also evaluated the association between anemia burden and the socio-demographic index (SDI), quantifed temporal trends of anemia burden from 1990 to 2021, and projected future burden to 2030.Results: Globally in 2021, there were 657.09 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 643.59 to 671.22) anemia cases and 18.07 million (95% UI: 12.00 to 26.17) YLDs among WRA. The global age-standardized prevalence rates (ASPR) and YLDs rates per 100,000 were 33716.77 (95% UI: 33023.84 to 34441.71) and 927.03 (95% UI: 615.40 to 1342.99) in 2021, and they decreased by 0.181% and 0.539% annually from 1990 to 2021, respectively. However, the decline in ASPR stagnated after 2009, with a slight increase observed through 2021, primarily driven by rising mild anemia. An inverse relationship existed between SDI and anemia burden across regions and nations. The most common causes of anemia were dietary iron deficiency, hemoglobinopathies and hemolytic anemias, and other neglected tropical diseases, with HIV/AIDS and malaria being most prominent in specific regions. Projections indicate anemia cases and YLD counts will rise consistently from 2022 to 2030, while ASPR and age-standardized YLD rates will decline.
Keywords: Anemia burden, Women of reproductive age, Global Burden of Disease study, Epidemiology, projections
Received: 06 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zheng, Peng, Wu, Gauan, Wang and Ning. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lixun Gauan, Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sanya, China
Shenyu Wang, Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100049, Beijing Municipality, China
Hongmei Ning, Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100049, Beijing Municipality, China
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