Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990–2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

GBD 2021 Anaemia Collaborators; Sapna Gupta; Seyed Afshin Shorofi; H. Kandel

doi:10.1016/S2352-3026(23)00160-6

Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990–2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

GBD 2021 Anaemia Collaborators, Sapna Gupta, Seyed Afshin Shorofi, H. Kandel

College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

310 Citations (Scopus)

13 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: Anaemia is a major health problem worldwide. Global estimates of anaemia burden are crucial for developing appropriate interventions to meet current international targets for disease mitigation. We describe the prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends of anaemia and its underlying causes in 204 countries and territories. Methods: We estimated population-level distributions of haemoglobin concentration by age and sex for each location from 1990 to 2021. We then calculated anaemia burden by severity and associated years lived with disability (YLDs). With data on prevalence of the causes of anaemia and associated cause-specific shifts in haemoglobin concentrations, we modelled the proportion of anaemia attributed to 37 underlying causes for all locations, years, and demographics in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Findings: In 2021, the global prevalence of anaemia across all ages was 24·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 23·9–24·7), corresponding to 1·92 billion (1·89–1·95) prevalent cases, compared with a prevalence of 28·2% (27·8–28·5) and 1·50 billion (1·48–1·52) prevalent cases in 1990. Large variations were observed in anaemia burden by age, sex, and geography, with children younger than 5 years, women, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia being particularly affected. Anaemia caused 52·0 million (35·1–75·1) YLDs in 2021, and the YLD rate due to anaemia declined with increasing Socio-demographic Index. The most common causes of anaemia YLDs in 2021 were dietary iron deficiency (cause-specific anaemia YLD rate per 100 000 population: 422·4 [95% UI 286·1–612·9]), haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias (89·0 [58·2–123·7]), and other neglected tropical diseases (36·3 [24·4–52·8]), collectively accounting for 84·7% (84·1–85·2) of anaemia YLDs. Interpretation: Anaemia remains a substantial global health challenge, with persistent disparities according to age, sex, and geography. Estimates of cause-specific anaemia burden can be used to design locally relevant health interventions aimed at improving anaemia management and prevention.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	e713-e734
Number of pages	22
Journal	The Lancet Haematology
Volume	10
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3026(23)00160-6
Publication status	Published - Sept 2023

Keywords

anemia
Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
disease mitigation
prevalence
Haemoglobin concentration

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/S2352-3026(23)00160-6Licence: CC BY

Published versionFinal published version, 2.31 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{49305c298d474f5b81c7ba9bbd019ad7,

title = "Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990–2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021",

abstract = "Background: Anaemia is a major health problem worldwide. Global estimates of anaemia burden are crucial for developing appropriate interventions to meet current international targets for disease mitigation. We describe the prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends of anaemia and its underlying causes in 204 countries and territories. Methods: We estimated population-level distributions of haemoglobin concentration by age and sex for each location from 1990 to 2021. We then calculated anaemia burden by severity and associated years lived with disability (YLDs). With data on prevalence of the causes of anaemia and associated cause-specific shifts in haemoglobin concentrations, we modelled the proportion of anaemia attributed to 37 underlying causes for all locations, years, and demographics in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Findings: In 2021, the global prevalence of anaemia across all ages was 24·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 23·9–24·7), corresponding to 1·92 billion (1·89–1·95) prevalent cases, compared with a prevalence of 28·2% (27·8–28·5) and 1·50 billion (1·48–1·52) prevalent cases in 1990. Large variations were observed in anaemia burden by age, sex, and geography, with children younger than 5 years, women, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia being particularly affected. Anaemia caused 52·0 million (35·1–75·1) YLDs in 2021, and the YLD rate due to anaemia declined with increasing Socio-demographic Index. The most common causes of anaemia YLDs in 2021 were dietary iron deficiency (cause-specific anaemia YLD rate per 100 000 population: 422·4 [95% UI 286·1–612·9]), haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias (89·0 [58·2–123·7]), and other neglected tropical diseases (36·3 [24·4–52·8]), collectively accounting for 84·7% (84·1–85·2) of anaemia YLDs. Interpretation: Anaemia remains a substantial global health challenge, with persistent disparities according to age, sex, and geography. Estimates of cause-specific anaemia burden can be used to design locally relevant health interventions aimed at improving anaemia management and prevention. ",

keywords = "anemia, Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, disease mitigation, prevalence, Haemoglobin concentration",

author = "{GBD 2021 Anaemia Collaborators} and Gardner, {William M.} and Christian Razo and McHugh, {Theresa A.} and Hailey Hagins and Vilchis-Tella, {Victor M.} and Conor Hennessy and Taylor, {Heather Jean} and Nandita Perumal and Kia Fuller and Cercy, {Kelly M} and Zoeckler, {Leo Zucker} and Chen, {Catherine S.} and Lim, {Stephen S.} and Amirali Aali and Abate, {Kalkidan Hassen} and Sherief Abd-Elsalam and Abdurehman, {Ame Mehadi} and Getachew Abebe and Hassan Abidi and Aboagye, {Richard Gyan} and Hassan Abolhassani and Aboye, {Girma Beressa} and Abtew, {Yonas Derso} and Accrombessi, {Manfred Mario Kokou} and Adane, {Denberu Eshetie} and Adane, {Tigist Demssew} and Addo, {Isaac Yeboah} and Adesina, {Miracle Ayomikun} and {Adedayo Adeyinka}, Daniel and Adnani, {Qorinah Estininhtyas Sakilah} and Afzal, {Muhammad Sohail} and Saira Afzal and Rina Agustina and Ahinkorah, {Bright Opoku} and Aqeel Ahmad and Sajjad Ahmad and Sepideh Ahmadi and Ayman Ahmed and Rashid, {Tarik Ahmed} and Wajeeha Aiman and Marjan Ajami and Hossein Akbarialiabad and Fares Alahdab and Ziyad Al-Aly and Nazmul Alam and Astawus Alemayehu and Alhassan, {Robert Kaba} and Ali, {Muhammad Ashar} and Sami Almustanyir and Al-Raddadi, {Rajaa M.} and Al-Rifai, {Rami H} and Altirkawi, {Khalid A.} and Saba Alvand and Nelson Alvis-Guzman and Amer, {Yasser S. Abdel Dayem} and Ameyaw, {Edward Kwabena} and Hubert Amu and Anagaw, {Tadele Fentabil} and Robert Ancuceanu and Anoushirvani, {Ali Arash} and Antwi, {Maxwell Hubert} and Davood Anvari and Jalal Arabloo and Aravkin, {Aleksandr Y.} and Hany Ariffin and Timur Aripov and Asrat Arja and Arndt, {Michael Benjamin} and Judie Arulappan and Aruleba, {Raphael Taiwo} and Tahira Ashraf and Asresie, {Melash Belachew} and Athari, {Seyyed Shamsadin} and Daniel Atlaw and Avinash Aujayeb and Awoke, {Andargie Abate} and Awoke, {Mamaru Ayenew} and Sina Azadnajafabad and Mohammadreza Azangou-Khyavy and Alaa Badawi and Badiye, {Ashish D.} and Nayereh Baghcheghi and Nasser Bagheri and Sara Bagherieh and Baig, {Atif Amin} and Maciej Banach and {Chandra Banik}, Palash and Bantie, {Abere Tilahun} and Barr, {Ronald D.} and Amadou Barrow and Azadeh Bashiri and Saurav Basu and Batiha, {Abdul-Monim Mohammad} and Tahmina Begum and Belete, {Melaku Ashagrie} and Luis Belo and Bensenor, {Isabela M.} and Berhie, {Alemshet Yirga} and Bhagavathula, {Akshaya Srikanth} and Nikha Bhardwaj and Pankaj Bhardwaj and Bhat, {Ajay Nagesh} and Bhutta, {Zulfiqar A.} and Boris Bikbov and Billah, {Sk Masum} and Setognal Birara and Bishai, {Jessica Devin} and Saeid Bitaraf and Archith Boloor and Botelho, {Jo{\~a}o Silva} and Katrin Burkart and Daniela Calina and Francieli Cembranel and Chakraborty, {Promit Ananyo} and Chanie, {Gashaw Sisay} and Chattu, {Vijay Kumar} and Ju-Huei Chien and Chukwu, {Isaac Sunday} and Eunice Chung and Criqui, {Michael H.} and Nat{\'a}lia Cruz-Martins and Omid Dadras and Dagnew, {Gizachew Worku} and Xiaochen Dai and Danawi, {Hadi A} and Lalit Dandona and Rakhi Dandona and Darwesh, {Aso Mohammad} and Das, {Jai K.} and Saswati Das and {De La Cruz-G{\'o}ngora}, Vanessa and Demisse, {Fitsum Wolde} and Solomon Demissie and Demsie, {Desalegn Getnet} and Desai, {Hardik Dineshbhai} and Markos Desalegn and Dessalegn, {Fikadu Nugusu} and Gashaw Dessie and Dharmaratne, {Samath Dhamminda} and Meghnath Dhimal and Sameer Dhingra and Daniel Diaz and Mojtaba Didehdar and Dirac, {M. Ashworth} and Mengistie Diress and Saeid Doaei and Milad Dodangeh and Doku, {Paul Narh} and Deepa Dongarwar and Dora, {Bezabih Terefe} and Dsouza, {Haneil Larson} and Edinur, {Hisham Atan} and Michael Ekholuenetale and Elagali, {Ahmed Elabbas Mustafa} and Elbahnasawy, {Mostafa Ahmed} and Iffat Elbarazi and ElGohary, {Ghada Metwally Tawfik} and Muhammed Elhadi and Waseem El-Huneidi and Elmonem, {Mohamed A.} and Enyew, {Daniel Berhanie} and Eshetu, {Habitu Birhan} and Ewald, {Samuel B} and Rana Ezzeddini and Fagbamigbe, {Adeniyi Francis} and Fasanmi, {Abidemi Omolara} and Ali Fatehizadeh and Ginenus Fekadu and Feyisa, {Bikila Regassa} and Florian Fischer and Ryan Fitzgerald and Masoud Foroutan and Fowobaje, {Kayode Raphael} and Gadanya, {Muktar A} and Gaidhane, {Abhay Motiramji} and Santosh Gaihre and Abduzhappar Gaipov and Yaseen Galali and Nasrin Galehdar and Priyanka Garg and Tushar Garg and Gebremariam, {Yosef Haile} and Gebremedhin, {Ketema Bizuwork} and Berhe Gebremichael and Gela, {Yibeltal Yismaw} and Urge Gerema and Lemma Getacher and Kazem Ghaffari and Mansour Ghafourifard and Seyyed-Hadi Ghamari and Nour, {Mohammad Ghasemi} and Ahmad Ghashghaee and Maryam Gholamalizadeh and Sherief Ghozy and Gizaw, {Abraham Tamirat T.} and Glasbey, {James C.} and Mahaveer Golechha and Pouya Goleij and Mohamad Golitaleb and Goulart, {Alessandra C.} and Goyomsa, {Girma Garedew} and Guadie, {Habtamu Alganeh} and Gubari, {Mohammed Ibrahim Mohialdeen} and Zewdie Gudisa and Gunawardane, {Damitha Asanga} and Rahul Gupta and Gupta, {Rajat Das} and Sapna Gupta and Gupta, {Vivek Kumar} and Alemu Guta and Parham Habibzadeh and Samer Hamidi and Handal, {Alexis J.} and Asif Hanif and Hannan, {Md Abdul} and Harapan Harapan and Mehdi Harorani and Hasaballah, {Ahmed I.} and Hasan, {Md Mehedi} and Hamidreza Hasani and Hadi Hassankhani and Hassen, {Mohammed Bheser} and Khezar Hayat and Golnaz Heidari and Hess, {Sonja Y} and Heyi, {Demisu Zenbaba} and Kamal Hezam and Yuta Hiraike and Ramesh Holla and Hossain, {Sheikh Jamal} and Kaveh Hosseini and Mohammad-Salar Hosseini and Medhi Hosseinzadeh and Mihaela Hostiuc and Sorin Hostiuc and Junjie Huang and Salman Hussain and Hussien, {Foziya Mohammed} and Shorofi, {Seyed Afshin} and H. Kandel",

year = "2023",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1016/S2352-3026(23)00160-6",

language = "English",

volume = "10",

pages = "e713--e734",

journal = "The Lancet Haematology",

issn = "2352-3026",

publisher = "Lancet Publishing Group",

number = "9",

}

Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990–2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. / GBD 2021 Anaemia Collaborators; Gupta, Sapna; Shorofi, Seyed Afshin et al.
In: The Lancet Haematology, Vol. 10, No. 9, 09.2023, p. e713-e734.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990–2021

T2 - findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

AU - GBD 2021 Anaemia Collaborators

AU - Gardner, William M.

AU - Razo, Christian

AU - McHugh, Theresa A.

AU - Hagins, Hailey

AU - Vilchis-Tella, Victor M.

AU - Hennessy, Conor

AU - Taylor, Heather Jean

AU - Perumal, Nandita

AU - Fuller, Kia

AU - Cercy, Kelly M

AU - Zoeckler, Leo Zucker

AU - Chen, Catherine S.

AU - Lim, Stephen S.

AU - Aali, Amirali

AU - Abate, Kalkidan Hassen

AU - Abd-Elsalam, Sherief

AU - Abdurehman, Ame Mehadi

AU - Abebe, Getachew

AU - Abidi, Hassan

AU - Aboagye, Richard Gyan

AU - Abolhassani, Hassan

AU - Aboye, Girma Beressa

AU - Abtew, Yonas Derso

AU - Accrombessi, Manfred Mario Kokou

AU - Adane, Denberu Eshetie

AU - Adane, Tigist Demssew

AU - Addo, Isaac Yeboah

AU - Adesina, Miracle Ayomikun

AU - Adedayo Adeyinka, Daniel

AU - Adnani, Qorinah Estininhtyas Sakilah

AU - Afzal, Muhammad Sohail

AU - Afzal, Saira

AU - Agustina, Rina

AU - Ahinkorah, Bright Opoku

AU - Ahmad, Aqeel

AU - Ahmad, Sajjad

AU - Ahmadi, Sepideh

AU - Ahmed, Ayman

AU - Rashid, Tarik Ahmed

AU - Aiman, Wajeeha

AU - Ajami, Marjan

AU - Akbarialiabad, Hossein

AU - Alahdab, Fares

AU - Al-Aly, Ziyad

AU - Alam, Nazmul

AU - Alemayehu, Astawus

AU - Alhassan, Robert Kaba

AU - Ali, Muhammad Ashar

AU - Almustanyir, Sami

AU - Al-Raddadi, Rajaa M.

AU - Al-Rifai, Rami H

AU - Altirkawi, Khalid A.

AU - Alvand, Saba

AU - Alvis-Guzman, Nelson

AU - Amer, Yasser S. Abdel Dayem

AU - Ameyaw, Edward Kwabena

AU - Amu, Hubert

AU - Anagaw, Tadele Fentabil

AU - Ancuceanu, Robert

AU - Anoushirvani, Ali Arash

AU - Antwi, Maxwell Hubert

AU - Anvari, Davood

AU - Arabloo, Jalal

AU - Aravkin, Aleksandr Y.

AU - Ariffin, Hany

AU - Aripov, Timur

AU - Arja, Asrat

AU - Arndt, Michael Benjamin

AU - Arulappan, Judie

AU - Aruleba, Raphael Taiwo

AU - Ashraf, Tahira

AU - Asresie, Melash Belachew

AU - Athari, Seyyed Shamsadin

AU - Atlaw, Daniel

AU - Aujayeb, Avinash

AU - Awoke, Andargie Abate

AU - Awoke, Mamaru Ayenew

AU - Azadnajafabad, Sina

AU - Azangou-Khyavy, Mohammadreza

AU - Badawi, Alaa

AU - Badiye, Ashish D.

AU - Baghcheghi, Nayereh

AU - Bagheri, Nasser

AU - Bagherieh, Sara

AU - Baig, Atif Amin

AU - Banach, Maciej

AU - Chandra Banik, Palash

AU - Bantie, Abere Tilahun

AU - Barr, Ronald D.

AU - Barrow, Amadou

AU - Bashiri, Azadeh

AU - Basu, Saurav

AU - Batiha, Abdul-Monim Mohammad

AU - Begum, Tahmina

AU - Belete, Melaku Ashagrie

AU - Belo, Luis

AU - Bensenor, Isabela M.

AU - Berhie, Alemshet Yirga

AU - Bhagavathula, Akshaya Srikanth

AU - Bhardwaj, Nikha

AU - Bhardwaj, Pankaj

AU - Bhat, Ajay Nagesh

AU - Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.

AU - Bikbov, Boris

AU - Billah, Sk Masum

AU - Birara, Setognal

AU - Bishai, Jessica Devin

AU - Bitaraf, Saeid

AU - Boloor, Archith

AU - Botelho, João Silva

AU - Burkart, Katrin

AU - Calina, Daniela

AU - Cembranel, Francieli

AU - Chakraborty, Promit Ananyo

AU - Chanie, Gashaw Sisay

AU - Chattu, Vijay Kumar

AU - Chien, Ju-Huei

AU - Chukwu, Isaac Sunday

AU - Chung, Eunice

AU - Criqui, Michael H.

AU - Cruz-Martins, Natália

AU - Dadras, Omid

AU - Dagnew, Gizachew Worku

AU - Dai, Xiaochen

AU - Danawi, Hadi A

AU - Dandona, Lalit

AU - Dandona, Rakhi

AU - Darwesh, Aso Mohammad

AU - Das, Jai K.

AU - Das, Saswati

AU - De La Cruz-Góngora, Vanessa

AU - Demisse, Fitsum Wolde

AU - Demissie, Solomon

AU - Demsie, Desalegn Getnet

AU - Desai, Hardik Dineshbhai

AU - Desalegn, Markos

AU - Dessalegn, Fikadu Nugusu

AU - Dessie, Gashaw

AU - Dharmaratne, Samath Dhamminda

AU - Dhimal, Meghnath

AU - Dhingra, Sameer

AU - Diaz, Daniel

AU - Didehdar, Mojtaba

AU - Dirac, M. Ashworth

AU - Diress, Mengistie

AU - Doaei, Saeid

AU - Dodangeh, Milad

AU - Doku, Paul Narh

AU - Dongarwar, Deepa

AU - Dora, Bezabih Terefe

AU - Dsouza, Haneil Larson

AU - Edinur, Hisham Atan

AU - Ekholuenetale, Michael

AU - Elagali, Ahmed Elabbas Mustafa

AU - Elbahnasawy, Mostafa Ahmed

AU - Elbarazi, Iffat

AU - ElGohary, Ghada Metwally Tawfik

AU - Elhadi, Muhammed

AU - El-Huneidi, Waseem

AU - Elmonem, Mohamed A.

AU - Enyew, Daniel Berhanie

AU - Eshetu, Habitu Birhan

AU - Ewald, Samuel B

AU - Ezzeddini, Rana

AU - Fagbamigbe, Adeniyi Francis

AU - Fasanmi, Abidemi Omolara

AU - Fatehizadeh, Ali

AU - Fekadu, Ginenus

AU - Feyisa, Bikila Regassa

AU - Fischer, Florian

AU - Fitzgerald, Ryan

AU - Foroutan, Masoud

AU - Fowobaje, Kayode Raphael

AU - Gadanya, Muktar A

AU - Gaidhane, Abhay Motiramji

AU - Gaihre, Santosh

AU - Gaipov, Abduzhappar

AU - Galali, Yaseen

AU - Galehdar, Nasrin

AU - Garg, Priyanka

AU - Garg, Tushar

AU - Gebremariam, Yosef Haile

AU - Gebremedhin, Ketema Bizuwork

AU - Gebremichael, Berhe

AU - Gela, Yibeltal Yismaw

AU - Gerema, Urge

AU - Getacher, Lemma

AU - Ghaffari, Kazem

AU - Ghafourifard, Mansour

AU - Ghamari, Seyyed-Hadi

AU - Nour, Mohammad Ghasemi

AU - Ghashghaee, Ahmad

AU - Gholamalizadeh, Maryam

AU - Ghozy, Sherief

AU - Gizaw, Abraham Tamirat T.

AU - Glasbey, James C.

AU - Golechha, Mahaveer

AU - Goleij, Pouya

AU - Golitaleb, Mohamad

AU - Goulart, Alessandra C.

AU - Goyomsa, Girma Garedew

AU - Guadie, Habtamu Alganeh

AU - Gubari, Mohammed Ibrahim Mohialdeen

AU - Gudisa, Zewdie

AU - Gunawardane, Damitha Asanga

AU - Gupta, Rahul

AU - Gupta, Rajat Das

AU - Gupta, Sapna

AU - Gupta, Vivek Kumar

AU - Guta, Alemu

AU - Habibzadeh, Parham

AU - Hamidi, Samer

AU - Handal, Alexis J.

AU - Hanif, Asif

AU - Hannan, Md Abdul

AU - Harapan, Harapan

AU - Harorani, Mehdi

AU - Hasaballah, Ahmed I.

AU - Hasan, Md Mehedi

AU - Hasani, Hamidreza

AU - Hassankhani, Hadi

AU - Hassen, Mohammed Bheser

AU - Hayat, Khezar

AU - Heidari, Golnaz

AU - Hess, Sonja Y

AU - Heyi, Demisu Zenbaba

AU - Hezam, Kamal

AU - Hiraike, Yuta

AU - Holla, Ramesh

AU - Hossain, Sheikh Jamal

AU - Hosseini, Kaveh

AU - Hosseini, Mohammad-Salar

AU - Hosseinzadeh, Medhi

AU - Hostiuc, Mihaela

AU - Hostiuc, Sorin

AU - Huang, Junjie

AU - Hussain, Salman

AU - Hussien, Foziya Mohammed

AU - Shorofi, Seyed Afshin

AU - Kandel, H.

PY - 2023/9

Y1 - 2023/9

N2 - Background: Anaemia is a major health problem worldwide. Global estimates of anaemia burden are crucial for developing appropriate interventions to meet current international targets for disease mitigation. We describe the prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends of anaemia and its underlying causes in 204 countries and territories. Methods: We estimated population-level distributions of haemoglobin concentration by age and sex for each location from 1990 to 2021. We then calculated anaemia burden by severity and associated years lived with disability (YLDs). With data on prevalence of the causes of anaemia and associated cause-specific shifts in haemoglobin concentrations, we modelled the proportion of anaemia attributed to 37 underlying causes for all locations, years, and demographics in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Findings: In 2021, the global prevalence of anaemia across all ages was 24·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 23·9–24·7), corresponding to 1·92 billion (1·89–1·95) prevalent cases, compared with a prevalence of 28·2% (27·8–28·5) and 1·50 billion (1·48–1·52) prevalent cases in 1990. Large variations were observed in anaemia burden by age, sex, and geography, with children younger than 5 years, women, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia being particularly affected. Anaemia caused 52·0 million (35·1–75·1) YLDs in 2021, and the YLD rate due to anaemia declined with increasing Socio-demographic Index. The most common causes of anaemia YLDs in 2021 were dietary iron deficiency (cause-specific anaemia YLD rate per 100 000 population: 422·4 [95% UI 286·1–612·9]), haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias (89·0 [58·2–123·7]), and other neglected tropical diseases (36·3 [24·4–52·8]), collectively accounting for 84·7% (84·1–85·2) of anaemia YLDs. Interpretation: Anaemia remains a substantial global health challenge, with persistent disparities according to age, sex, and geography. Estimates of cause-specific anaemia burden can be used to design locally relevant health interventions aimed at improving anaemia management and prevention.

AB - Background: Anaemia is a major health problem worldwide. Global estimates of anaemia burden are crucial for developing appropriate interventions to meet current international targets for disease mitigation. We describe the prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends of anaemia and its underlying causes in 204 countries and territories. Methods: We estimated population-level distributions of haemoglobin concentration by age and sex for each location from 1990 to 2021. We then calculated anaemia burden by severity and associated years lived with disability (YLDs). With data on prevalence of the causes of anaemia and associated cause-specific shifts in haemoglobin concentrations, we modelled the proportion of anaemia attributed to 37 underlying causes for all locations, years, and demographics in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Findings: In 2021, the global prevalence of anaemia across all ages was 24·3% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 23·9–24·7), corresponding to 1·92 billion (1·89–1·95) prevalent cases, compared with a prevalence of 28·2% (27·8–28·5) and 1·50 billion (1·48–1·52) prevalent cases in 1990. Large variations were observed in anaemia burden by age, sex, and geography, with children younger than 5 years, women, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia being particularly affected. Anaemia caused 52·0 million (35·1–75·1) YLDs in 2021, and the YLD rate due to anaemia declined with increasing Socio-demographic Index. The most common causes of anaemia YLDs in 2021 were dietary iron deficiency (cause-specific anaemia YLD rate per 100 000 population: 422·4 [95% UI 286·1–612·9]), haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias (89·0 [58·2–123·7]), and other neglected tropical diseases (36·3 [24·4–52·8]), collectively accounting for 84·7% (84·1–85·2) of anaemia YLDs. Interpretation: Anaemia remains a substantial global health challenge, with persistent disparities according to age, sex, and geography. Estimates of cause-specific anaemia burden can be used to design locally relevant health interventions aimed at improving anaemia management and prevention.

KW - anemia

KW - Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

KW - disease mitigation

KW - prevalence

KW - Haemoglobin concentration

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85169502831&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/S2352-3026(23)00160-6

DO - 10.1016/S2352-3026(23)00160-6

M3 - Article

C2 - 37536353

AN - SCOPUS:85169502831

SN - 2352-3026

VL - 10

SP - e713-e734

JO - The Lancet Haematology

JF - The Lancet Haematology

IS - 9

ER -

Prevalence, years lived with disability, and trends in anaemia burden by severity and cause, 1990–2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this