Global, regional, and national burden of anemia, 1990 to 2021: An observational study analysis for the global burden of disease

Anemia is a highly prevalent hematologic disorder that affects the physical health of patients, especially pregnant women, non-pregnant women of childbearing age, and children under 5 years of age. The development of appropriate and rational interventions is essential to reduce the burden of anemia. The main objective of this study was to quantify the burden of anemia globally, regionally and nationally between 1990 and 2021. First, trends in burden of disease (prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs)) were analyzed for the period 1990 to 2021. After that, trends were analyzed stratified by gender, age, socio-demographic indices (SDI) region, GDB region and country, and also clustered for the increase or decrease in burden in GDB region, and the burden of disease in 2021 was described and profiled in detail. Finally, the future burden of anemia in male and female was projected using 2 models, ARIMA and ES. Globally from 1990 to 2021, the number with anemia is increasing, while the corresponding age-standardized ratio (ASR) is decreasing. Disease burden peaks in the <5 years and reproductive age female age groups, and is significantly higher in females than in males. In addition, disease burden was inversely related to SDI levels. It also varies considerably between different GBD regions and countries. The predictions of the 2 models were also inconsistent. The disease burden of anemia can show a slight increase or a stable and unchanged state over time, with an overall stabilization. It is still necessary to pay close attention to the trend of the disease burden and to strengthen the monitoring of key populations. Since the prevalence of anemia is extremely high and has a significant negative impact on human health, this study highlights the importance of reducing the disease burden of anemia and describes the burden of anemia to guide the development of strategies. The focus of reducing the burden of anemia is on iron and vitamin B12 supplementation, healthy dietary habits, and regular screening of hemoglobin levels in newborns and women.