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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1517478

Burden and Trends of Dietary Iron Deficiency in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region, 1990-2021

Provisionally accepted
Saeid Safiri Saeid Safiri 1*Fatemeh Amiri Fatemeh Amiri 1Nahid Karamzad Nahid Karamzad 1Mark Sullman Mark Sullman 2Ali-Asghar Kolahi Ali-Asghar Kolahi 3Morteza Abdollahi Morteza Abdollahi 3
  • 1 Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
  • 2 University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
  • 3 Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Tehran, Iran

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

    Objective: To assess the burden of dietary iron deficiency in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, focusing on prevalence and years lived with disability (YLD) in 2021 and their changes since 1990. Methods: Data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study were utilised to report counts and age-standardised rates for prevalence and YLD related to dietary iron deficiency. All estimates were accompanied by 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Results: In 2021, the age-standardised prevalence of dietary iron deficiency in the MENA region was 14,368.2 per 100,000, representing a 26% decline since 1990. The highest age-standardised prevalence rates were observed in Yemen (30,146.5), Sudan (19,296.9), and Morocco (15,303) per 100,000 population. Prevalence was notably highest among children under five years old and women of reproductive age, with a gradual decline in older age groups. The greatest reductions in prevalence were seen among older age groups, indicating an age-related downward trend from 1990 to 2021. Conclusion: Despite some improvements, dietary iron deficiency remains a significant public health concern in the MENA region, particularly in countries with lower socio-demographic indices (SDI). Targeted interventions are essential, especially for vulnerable groups such as children and women.

    Keywords: Dietary iron deficiency, Epidemiology, Prevalence, Incidence, Burden, global

    Received: 26 Oct 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Safiri, Amiri, Karamzad, Sullman, Kolahi and Abdollahi. 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: Saeid Safiri, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.