{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T01:35:16Z","timestamp":1787016916061,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"12","funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100006641","name":"UNICEF","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100006641","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,3]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      To determine the prevalence and possible factors associated with anaemia, and vitamin B\n                      <jats:sub>12<\/jats:sub>\n                      and folate deficiencies in women of reproductive age (WRA) in Pakistan.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A secondary analysis was conducted on data collected through the large-scale National Nutrition Survey in Pakistan in 2011. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin levels &lt;12\u2009g\/dL, vitamin B\n                      <jats:sub>12<\/jats:sub>\n                      deficiency as serum vitamin B\n                      <jats:sub>12<\/jats:sub>\n                      levels of &lt;203\u2009pg\/mL (150\u2009pmol\/L) and folate deficiency as serum folate levels &lt;4\u2009ng\/mL (10\u2009nmol\/L).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 11\u2009751 blood samples were collected and analysed. The prevalence of anaemia, vitamin B\n                      <jats:sub>12<\/jats:sub>\n                      deficiency and folate deficiency was 50.4%, 52.4% and 50.8%, respectively. After adjustment, the following factors were positively associated with anaemia: living in Sindh province (RR 1.07; 95%\u2009CI 1.04 to 1.09)\u2009P&lt;0.00, food insecure with moderate hunger (RR 1.03; 95%\u2009CI 1.00 to 1.06)\u2009P=0.02, four or more pregnancies (RR 1.03; 95%\u2009CI 1.01 to 1.05)\u2009P&lt;0.00, being underweight (RR 1.03; 95%\u2009CI 1.00 to 1.05)\u2009P=0.02, being overweight or obese (RR 0.95; 95%\u2009CI 0.93 to 0.97)\u2009P&lt;0.00 and weekly intake of leafy green vegetables (RR 0.98; 95%\u2009CI 0.95 to 1.00)\u2009P=0.04. For vitamin B\n                      <jats:sub>12<\/jats:sub>\n                      deficiency, a positive association was observed with rural population (RR 0.81; 95%\u2009CI 0.66 to 1.00)\u2009P=0.04, living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (RR 1.25; 95%\u2009CI 1.11 to 1.43)\u2009P&lt;0.00 and living in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (RR 1.50; 95%\u2009CI 1.08 to 2.08)\u2009P=0.01. Folate deficiency was negatively associated with daily and weekly intake of eggs (RR 0.89; 95%\u2009CI 0.81 to 0.98)\u2009P=0.02 and (RR 0.88; 95%\u2009CI 0.78 to 0.99)\u2009P=0.03.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In Pakistan, anaemia, and vitamin B\n                      <jats:sub>12<\/jats:sub>\n                      and folate deficiencies are a severe public health concern among WRA. Our findings suggest that further research is needed on culturally appropriate short-term and long-term interventions within communities and health facilities to decrease anaemia, and vitamin B\n                      <jats:sub>12<\/jats:sub>\n                      and folate deficiencies among Pakistani women.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2017-018007","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,23]],"date-time":"2017-12-23T00:31:02Z","timestamp":1513989062000},"page":"e018007","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":46,"title":["Prevalence and possible factors associated with anaemia, and vitamin B\n                    <sub>\n                      <sub>12<\/sub>\n                    <\/sub>\n                    and folate deficiencies in women of reproductive age in Pakistan: analysis of national-level secondary survey data"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Sajid","family":"Soofi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gul Nawaz","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kamran","family":"Sadiq","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shabina","family":"Ariff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Atif","family":"Habib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sumra","family":"Kureishy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Imtiaz","family":"Hussain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Umer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zamir","family":"Suhag","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arjumand","family":"Rizvi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zulfiqar","family":"Bhutta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan"},{"name":"Global Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,12,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025121410132730000_7.12.e018007.1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF). 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