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REVIEW article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Public Health and Nutrition

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1653222

Burden of Anemia in the United States from 1990-2019: A Systematic Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Provisionally accepted
  • American Regent, New York, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: Anemia is a common condition that affects both males and females in all age groups worldwide, but comprehensive data on the burden of anemia and its trends over time in the United States (US) are scarce. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study published global age-standardized point prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2019. In this study, we analyzed GBD 2019 data to explore the factors underlying anemia burden in the US. Methods: In this secondary analysis of GBD 2019 data, we extracted point estimates and 95% uncertainty intervals of DALYs to describe the health loss due to anemia in the US between 1990 and 2019. We segmented DALYs by demographic characteristics and attributed them to anemia-causing conditions such as dietary iron deficiency (DID), diabetes and kidney diseases, digestive diseases, and obstetric or gynecological conditions. Findings: From 1990 to 2019, anemia DALYs increased from 332,449 to 418,855 in the US; over half were due to DID. The rates of DALYs per 100,000 people declined steadily from 1990 to the early 2000s and began to increase steadily afterward. Rates of DALYs were higher in females than males for anemia due to DID, diabetes and kidney diseases, and digestive diseases until the age of 80 years. Large variations in health burden of anemia by state were seen, with the highest rates in Mississippi, District of Columbia, and Alabama. Interpretation: These data on the burden of anemia in terms of years of health lost and its increase over time in the US highlight the need for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of anemia to ensure health for all.

Keywords: Anemia, daly, Global burden of disease, Epidemiology, GBD

Received: 24 Jun 2025; Accepted: 29 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Shwarz. 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: Michelle Shwarz, American Regent, New York, United States

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