Abstract
Although iron deficiency is well documented, less is known about dietary involvement in symptomatic iron deficiency manifesting in medical conditions. In this study, we quantified the global burden of dietary iron deficiency, focusing on where inadequate dietary iron intake leads to clinical manifestations such as anemia. We analyzed data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 to estimate dietary iron deficiency prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), stratified by age, sex, geography and socio-demographic index (SDI) across 204 countries. In 2021, global age-standardized prevalence and DALY rates were 16,434.4 (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 16,186.2–16,689.0) and 423.7 (285.3–610.8) per 100,000 population, with rates decreasing by 9.8% (8.1–11.3) and 18.2% (15.4–21.1) from 1990 to 2021. A higher burden was observed in female individual (age-standardized prevalence, 21,334.8 (95% UI, 20,984.8–21,697.4); DALYs, 598.0 (402.6–854.4)) than in male individual ((age-standardized prevalence, 11,684.7 (11,374.6–12,008.8); DALYs, 253.0 (167.3–371.0)). High-SDI countries presented greater improvement, with a 25.7% reduction compared to 11.5% in low-SDI countries. Despite global improvements, dietary iron deficiency remains a major health concern with a global prevalence of 16.7%, particularly affecting female individuals, children and residents in low-SDI countries. Urgent interventions through supplementation, food security measures and fortification initiatives are essential.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1809-1829 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Nature Medicine |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2025 |
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In: Nature Medicine, Vol. 31, No. 6, 06.2025, p. 1809-1829.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Global, regional and national burden of dietary iron deficiency from 1990 to 2021
T2 - a Global Burden of Disease study
AU - GBD 2021 Dietary Iron Deficiency Collaborators
AU - Lee, Sooji
AU - Son, Yejun
AU - Hwang, Jiyoung
AU - Kim, Min Seo
AU - McLaughlin, Susan A.
AU - Vilchis-Tella, Victor
AU - Zoeckler, Leo
AU - Perumal, Nandita
AU - Zyoud, Sa’ed H.
AU - Zoghi, Ghazal
AU - Zia, Hafsa
AU - Zhumagaliuly, Abzal
AU - Zhong, Claire Chenwen
AU - Zhang, Liqun
AU - Zhang, Haijun
AU - Zeru, Naod Gebrekrstos
AU - Zeariya, Mohammed G.M.
AU - Zare, Iman
AU - Zamora, Nelson
AU - Zaman, Burhan Abdullah
AU - Yu, Chuanhua
AU - Yonemoto, Naohiro
AU - Yin, Dehui
AU - Yigezu, Muluken
AU - Yesuf, Subah Abderehim
AU - Yaya, Sanni
AU - Yarahmadi, Amir
AU - Yadav, Vikas
AU - Xu, Xiaoyue
AU - Wubie, Yihun Miskir
AU - Woday, Abay Tadesse
AU - Willeit, Peter
AU - Wild, Holly
AU - Weerakoon, Kosala Gayan
AU - Wang, Yanzhong
AU - Waheed, Yasir
AU - Volovat, Simona Ruxandra
AU - Vinayak, Manish
AU - Vervoort, Dominique
AU - Verras, Georgios Ioannis
AU - Vellingiri, Balachandar
AU - Vasankari, Tommi Juhani
AU - Varghese, Joe
AU - Van den Eynde, Jef
AU - Valizadeh, Rohollah
AU - Vaithinathan, Asokan Govindaraj
AU - Vahdati, Sanaz
AU - Vahabi, Seyed Mohammad
AU - Ushula, Tolassa Wakayo
AU - Unnikrishnan, Bhaskaran
AU - Umar, Muhammad
AU - Ullah, Shahid
AU - Ullah, Saeed
AU - Udoakang, Aniefiok John
AU - Tumurkhuu, Munkhtuya
AU - Tualeka, Abdul Rohim
AU - Tri Tai Truyen, Thien Tan
AU - Trico, Domenico
AU - Tran, Thang Huu
AU - Tran, Ngoc Ha
AU - Tran, Nghia Minh
AU - Tovani-Palone, Marcos Roberto
AU - Tiwari, Krishna
AU - Titova, Mariya Vladimirovna
AU - Ticoalu, Jansje Henny Vera
AU - Thomas, Nikhil Kenny
AU - Thirunavukkarasu, Sathish
AU - Tharwat, Samar
AU - Thapar, Rekha
AU - Temsah, Mohamad Hani
AU - Tefera, Yibekal Manaye
AU - Taye, Birhan Tsegaw
AU - Tat, Nathan Y.
AU - Tariqujjaman, Md
AU - Tarigan, Ingan Ukur
AU - Tamuzi, Jacques Lukenze
AU - Tampa, Mircea
AU - Talaat, Iman M.
AU - Taiba, Jabeen
AU - Tabche, Celine
AU - Tabatabaeizadeh, Seyed Amir
AU - Tabatabaei, Seyyed Mohammad
AU - Sree Sudha, T. Y.
AU - Szeto, Mindy D.
AU - Szarpak, Lukasz
AU - Swain, Chandan Kumar
AU - Susianti, Hani
AU - Subramaniyan, Vetriselvan
AU - Srinivasamurthy, Suresh Kumar
AU - Sorensen, Reed J.D.
AU - Soraneh, Soroush
AU - Solanki, Shipra
AU - Solanki, Ranjan
AU - Sobia, Farrukh
AU - Singh, Surjit
AU - Singh, Puneetpal
AU - Singh, Paramdeep
AU - Singh, Narinder Pal
AU - Singh, Jasvinder A.
AU - Singh, Jasbir
AU - Singh, Harmanjit
AU - Singh, Baljinder
AU - Lopes Rodrigues Silva, Luís Manuel
AU - Siddig, Emmanuel Edwar
AU - Shrestha, Sunil
AU - Shivarov, Velizar
AU - Shittu, Aminu
AU - Shiri, Rahman
AU - Shetty, Shiran
AU - Shetty, Premalatha K.
AU - Shetty, Pavanchand H.
AU - Shetty, Mahabalesh
AU - Shenoy, Rekha Raghuveer
AU - Sheikhi, Rahim Ali
AU - Shayan, Maryam
AU - Sharma, Vishal
AU - Sharma, Anupam
AU - Rad, Javad Sharifi
AU - Sharifan, Amin
AU - Sharath, Medha
AU - Shannawaz, Mohammed
AU - Shanawaz, Mohd
AU - Shamsutdinova, Alfiya
AU - Shamsi, Anas
AU - Shams-Beyranvand, Mehran
AU - Shamim, Muhammad Aaqib
AU - Sham, Sunder
AU - Shakeri, Alireza
AU - Shaikh, Masood Ali
AU - Shahwan, Moyad Jamal
AU - Shahid, Wajeehah
AU - Shahid, Samiah
AU - Shafie, Mahan
AU - Setiawan, Christianus Heru
AU - Sethi, Yashendra
AU - Sepanlou, Sadaf G.
AU - Sengupta, Pallav
AU - Semreen, Mohammad H.
AU - Selvaraj, Siddharthan
AU - Schuermans, Art
AU - Sayeed, Abu
AU - Sawhney, Monika
AU - Satpathy, Maheswar
AU - Sathyanarayan, Anudeep
AU - Sathian, Brijesh
AU - Sarode, Sachin C.
AU - Sarode, Gargi Sachin
AU - Sarkar, Tanmay
AU - Saravanan, Aswini
AU - Saraswathy, Sivan Yegnanarayana Iyer
AU - Santos, Itamar S.
AU - Sanjeev, Rama Krishna
AU - Samy, Abdallah M.
AU - Samuel, Vijaya Paul
AU - Samodra, Yoseph Leonardo
AU - Salem, Marwa Rashad
AU - Saleem, Samreen
AU - Salaroli, Luciane B.
AU - Salami, Afeez Abolarinwa
AU - Sajadi, S. Mohammad
AU - Sahoo, Soumya Swaroop
AU - Sahoo, Pragyan Monalisa
AU - Sahebkar, Amirhossein
AU - Sharif-Askari, Narjes Saheb
AU - Sharif-Askari, Fatemeh Saheb
AU - Saeed, Umar
AU - Saddik, Basema Ahmad
AU - Dhingra, Mamta Sachdeva
AU - Sabour, Siamak
AU - Sabet, Cameron John
AU - Saad, Aly M.A.
AU - Rwegerera, Godfrey M.
AU - de Andrade Ruela, Guilherme
AU - Roy, Bedanta
AU - Rout, Himanshu Sekhar
AU - Rony, Moustaq Karim Khan
AU - Ronfani, Luca
AU - Rohilla, Ravi
AU - Roever, Leonardo
AU - Rocha, Hermano Alexandre Lima
AU - Rickard, Jennifer
AU - Riaz, Muhammad
AU - Rezaeian, Mohsen
AU - Rezaei, Nazila
AU - Rengasamy, Kannan R.R.
AU - Remuzzi, Giuseppe
AU - Moustafa Mohamed Redwan, Elrashdy M.
AU - Razo, Christian
AU - Raza, Rabail Zehra
AU - Rawaf, Salman
AU - Rathish, Devarajan
AU - Rasouli-Saravani, Ashkan
AU - Rashidi, Mohammad Mahdi
AU - Rao, Sowmya J.
AU - Rao, Mithun
AU - Rao, Chythra R.
AU - Rane, Amey
AU - Rana, Rishabh Kumar
AU - Rana, Kritika
AU - Ramasamy, Shakthi Kumaran
AU - Ramadan, Mahmoud Mohammed
AU - Ramachandra, Koushik
AU - Rajput, Prashant
AU - Rajendran, Vinoth
AU - Raja, Sandesh
AU - Raja, Adarsh
AU - Rahmawaty, Setyaningrum
AU - Rahmanian, Vahid
AU - Rahmanian, Mohammad
AU - Rahmani, Amir Masoud
AU - Rahman, Muhammad Aziz
AU - Rahman, Mosiur
AU - Rahman, Mohammad Hifz Ur
AU - Rahman, Md Mosfequr
AU - Rahimi-Movaghar, Vafa
AU - Rahim, Fakher
AU - Raghav, Pankaja
AU - Radhakrishnan, Venkatraman
AU - Deepthi, R.
AU - Qazi, Asma Saleem
AU - Qattea, Ibrahim
AU - Qasim, Nameer Hashim
AU - Puvvula, Jagadeesh
AU - Purohit, Bharathi M.
AU - Prasad, Manya
AU - Pradhan, Jalandhar
AU - Pradhan, Pranil Man Singh
AU - Pourtaheri, Naeimeh
AU - Poluru, Ramesh
AU - Poddighe, Dimitri
AU - Piracha, Zahra Zahid
AU - Philip, Anil K.
AU - Perico, Norberto
AU - Perianayagam, Arokiasamy
AU - Pereira, Gavin
AU - Peprah, Prince
AU - Peng, Minjin
AU - Pawar, Shrikant
AU - Patoulias, Dimitrios
AU - Patil, Shankargouda
AU - Pati, Siddhartha
AU - Patel, Jay
AU - Passera, Roberto
AU - Park, Seoyeon
AU - Parikh, Romil R.
AU - Parija, Pragyan Paramita
AU - Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful
AU - Islam, Md Rabiul
AU - Bagheri, Nasser
AU - Ali, Mohammed Usman
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. 2025.
PY - 2025/6
Y1 - 2025/6
N2 - Although iron deficiency is well documented, less is known about dietary involvement in symptomatic iron deficiency manifesting in medical conditions. In this study, we quantified the global burden of dietary iron deficiency, focusing on where inadequate dietary iron intake leads to clinical manifestations such as anemia. We analyzed data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 to estimate dietary iron deficiency prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), stratified by age, sex, geography and socio-demographic index (SDI) across 204 countries. In 2021, global age-standardized prevalence and DALY rates were 16,434.4 (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 16,186.2–16,689.0) and 423.7 (285.3–610.8) per 100,000 population, with rates decreasing by 9.8% (8.1–11.3) and 18.2% (15.4–21.1) from 1990 to 2021. A higher burden was observed in female individual (age-standardized prevalence, 21,334.8 (95% UI, 20,984.8–21,697.4); DALYs, 598.0 (402.6–854.4)) than in male individual ((age-standardized prevalence, 11,684.7 (11,374.6–12,008.8); DALYs, 253.0 (167.3–371.0)). High-SDI countries presented greater improvement, with a 25.7% reduction compared to 11.5% in low-SDI countries. Despite global improvements, dietary iron deficiency remains a major health concern with a global prevalence of 16.7%, particularly affecting female individuals, children and residents in low-SDI countries. Urgent interventions through supplementation, food security measures and fortification initiatives are essential.
AB - Although iron deficiency is well documented, less is known about dietary involvement in symptomatic iron deficiency manifesting in medical conditions. In this study, we quantified the global burden of dietary iron deficiency, focusing on where inadequate dietary iron intake leads to clinical manifestations such as anemia. We analyzed data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 to estimate dietary iron deficiency prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), stratified by age, sex, geography and socio-demographic index (SDI) across 204 countries. In 2021, global age-standardized prevalence and DALY rates were 16,434.4 (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 16,186.2–16,689.0) and 423.7 (285.3–610.8) per 100,000 population, with rates decreasing by 9.8% (8.1–11.3) and 18.2% (15.4–21.1) from 1990 to 2021. A higher burden was observed in female individual (age-standardized prevalence, 21,334.8 (95% UI, 20,984.8–21,697.4); DALYs, 598.0 (402.6–854.4)) than in male individual ((age-standardized prevalence, 11,684.7 (11,374.6–12,008.8); DALYs, 253.0 (167.3–371.0)). High-SDI countries presented greater improvement, with a 25.7% reduction compared to 11.5% in low-SDI countries. Despite global improvements, dietary iron deficiency remains a major health concern with a global prevalence of 16.7%, particularly affecting female individuals, children and residents in low-SDI countries. Urgent interventions through supplementation, food security measures and fortification initiatives are essential.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105008398095&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41591-025-03624-8
DO - 10.1038/s41591-025-03624-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 40263631
AN - SCOPUS:105008398095
SN - 1078-8956
VL - 31
SP - 1809
EP - 1829
JO - Nature Medicine
JF - Nature Medicine
IS - 6
ER -