Anemia in Pregnant Women and Children Aged 6 to 59 Months Living in Mozambique and Portugal: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

INTRODUCTION

Globally, anemia is still a public health issue faced by people in low and high-income countries. This study gives an overview of published scientific articles related to the prevalence, nutritional indicators, and social determinants of anemia in pregnant women and children aged 6 to 59 months living in Mozambique and Portugal.

METHODS

We performed a review of scientific literature in April 2021, searching for published indexed articles in the last 15 years (2003-2018) in electronic databases. Subsequently, quality assessment, data extraction, and content analysis were performed.

RESULTS

We have identified 20 relevant publications. Unsurprisingly, anemia plays a relevant role in disability and life imbalances for these subgroups in Mozambique compared with Portugal. For both countries, data on anemia and iron deficiency in pregnant women and children aged 6 to 59 months old are either outdated or remain unclear. Similarly, studies on social determinants and anemia are also still scarce.

CONCLUSIONS

A gap of information on anemia, other nutritional indicators, and social determinants in pregnant women and children between 6 and 59 months of age living in Mozambique and Portugal is highly observed. More research is crucial to help achieve the goals established by the Sustainable Development Goals.