Anemia in indigenous women and children in Brazil: a systematic review

Iron-deficiency anemia can be considered the most important nutritional deficiency in Brazil. The scope of this article was to conduct a systematic review of the literature in order to describe the frequency of anemia in indigenous women and children in Brazil, and gather information on associated factors. A search of the PubMed, Scopus and Lilacs databases was conducted. Seventeen studies were selected. The rates of prevalence of anemia ranged from 23.1%-74.6%; 42.9%-92.3% and 29.6%-84%, for children aged 6 to 119 months, 6 to 23 months and 6 to 59 months, respectively. Two studies were conducted with women of childbearing age and rates of 67% were found among the Surui and 16.1% among the Xukuru of Ororuba. The majority of authors attribute the prevalence of anemia to inadequate sanitary conditions, diets deficient in iron and essential micronutrients and a lack of access to basic health services. The findings highlight the importance of anemia among the indigenous peoples studied, which has been reflected by a substantial increase in research over the last twenty years.