Prevalence of anaemia in Brazilian children in different epidemiological scenarios: an updated meta-analysis

Objective: To update the estimation of the prevalence of anaemia in Brazilian children according to four different epidemiological scenarios. Design: A new systematic review was conducted with a meta-analysis of the results published between 2007 and May 2019. Literature search was carried out in the PubMed and LILACS databases using keywords anaemia, child and Brazil. A total of thirty-seven articles (17 741 children) were selected and categorised according to the origin of their respective samples: childcare centres (Childcare; n 13 studies/2697 individuals), health services (Services; n 4/755), populations with social inequities (Inequities, n 7/6798) and population-based studies (Populations; n 13/7491). Assuming a prevalence of 20 center dot 9 % as reference (Health National Survey; n 3455), the combined prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated. A random-effects model was used. Participants: Brazilian children 6-60 months of age. Results: The prevalence of anaemia, by scenario, was: Childcare 24 center dot 8 % (PR 1 center dot 06; 95 % CI 0 center dot 81, 1 center dot 40); Services 39 center dot 9 % (PR 1 center dot 76, 95 % CI 1 center dot 33, 2 center dot 35); Inequities 51 center dot 6 % (PR 2 center dot 02, 95 % CI 1 center dot 87, 2 center dot 18); and Populations 35 center dot 8 % (PR 1 center dot 42, 95 % CI 1 center dot 23, 1 center dot 64). Therefore, the values were all higher than the national prevalence; the Inequities had the highest prevalence, and only Childcare did not reach statistical significance. Concerning the previous meta-analysis, there was a reduction in anaemia prevalence in all scenarios: -52 center dot 3, -33 center dot 7, -22 center dot 4 and -10 center dot 7 %, respectively. Conclusions: Compared to the situation revealed in the previous meta-analysis, anaemia, although observed to a lesser extent, remains an important public health problem in the different scenarios analysed, especially for children living in Inequities. Access to Childcare mitigates the risk for this condition.

Automated summary

Based on a new systematic review, the prevalence of anaemia in Brazilian children is higher than the national average in different scenarios, with the highest rates observed in populations facing social inequities. Compared to previous meta-analysis, there has been a reduction in anaemia prevalence in all scenarios analyzed.