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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 May 10;18(5):e0285336.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285336. eCollection 2023.

Prevalence of anemia in diabetes mellitus in South Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Hoimonty Mazumder  1 , Kazi Faria Islam  1 , Farzana Rahman  1 , Easter Protiva Gain  1 , Nobonita Saha  2 , Irfath Sharmin Eva  3 , Md Monir Hossain Shimul  4 , Jyoti Das  5 , M Mahbub Hossain  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of anemia in diabetes mellitus in South Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Hoimonty Mazumder et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective: Anemia and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) are amongst major clinical and public health challenges in South Asia that influence the progression of chronic health problems in this population. Despite a growing body of research on these problems, there is a lack synthesized evidence on the burden of anemia among people with DM in this region. This meta-analytic review was conducted to estimate the prevalence of anemia among people with DM in South Asia.

Methods: A systematic search of the literature was conducted in five primary databases and additional sources up to July 29, 2022, that reported the prevalence of anemia among DM patients in any of the eight South Asian countries. Observational studies that met pre-determined eligibility criteria according to the protocol registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022348433) were included in this meta-analysis. Random effect models were used to estimate pooled prevalence.

Results: Of the 40 eligible studies, 38 underwent meta-analysis representing 14,194 participants with DM. The pooled prevalence of anemia was 45% (95% CI: 37.0-54.0, I2 = 99.28%, p = 0.00) among diabetic people in South Asia. In sub-group analysis, the pooled prevalence of anemia was higher in females (48%, 95% CI: 37.0-60.0, I2 = 98.86%, p = 0.00) compared to males (39%, 95% CI: 29.0-48.0, I2 = 98.18%, p = 0.00). Diabetic patients with older age (≥ 50 years) reported higher pooled estimates of anemia (48%, 95% CI: 38.0-58.0, I2 = 99.07%) than younger age group (< 50 years) (34%, 95% CI: 21.0-47.0, I2 = 98.83%). In addition, we found variation in pooled prevalence estimates of anemia considering the type of DM, such as type 1 reported 2% (95% CI: 0.00-4.00), type-2 reported 48% (95% CI: 40.0-56.0, I2 = 98.94%), and Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) reported 6% (95% CI: 3.00-12.0).

Conclusion: High pooled estimates of anemia among diabetic patients in South Asia, including publication bias, warrants further clinical and public health research following standard research methods to understand the more context-specific epidemiological insights and evidence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow diagram of the literature retrieval process.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Forest plot showing the pooled prevalence of anemia among diabetes mellitus patients in South Asia.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Funnel plot with pseudo 95% CI showing the publication bias of included studies on the prevalence of anemia among DM patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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