{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]],"date-time":"2026-07-11T20:33:51Z","timestamp":1783802031284,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"National Institute of Public Health NIH (National Research Institute)","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,26]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Women of reproductive age (WRA) are one of the vulnerable population mostly impacted by anemia and iron deficiency (ID) worldwide.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anemia, ID, and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) among WRA in Morocco.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Material and Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study included a representative sample of 2,012 non-pregnant women aged 15-49 years covering the entire territory of Morocco. Data collection encompassed socio-demographic information, anthropometric measurements, along with blood samples. Hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, serum ferritin (SF), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have been analyzed.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The median of SF for the entire population was 27 \u03bcg\/mL (Interquartile Range (IQR): 12-50 \u03bcg\/mL), and the mean of Hb was 12.2 \u00b1 1.5 g\/dL. Significant differences were observed between urban and rural areas: urban SF median was 24 \u03bcg\/mL (IQR: 11-45 \u03bcg\/mL) versus rural 31 \u03bcg\/mL (IQR: 15-55 \u03bcg\/mL, p &lt; 0.001), and urban Hb mean was 12.2 \u00b1 1.5 g\/dL compared to rural 12.4 \u00b1 1.5 g\/dL (p = 0.02). Furthermore, the prevalence of anemia, ID and IDA are consistently high; 34.3%, 29.8%, and 16.4%, respectively, with a significant difference in favor of urban areas.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Our findings from this national survey reveal that despite over a decade of implementing flour fortification strategy using electrolytic iron to address iron deficiency in Morocco, anemia, ID, and IDA remain widespread among WRA. Exploring alternative strategies or adopting a different form of iron for fortification could be beneficial in reducing or even eradicating iron deficiency among Moroccan women.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.32394\/rpzh\/203338","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,17]],"date-time":"2025-04-17T11:13:02Z","timestamp":1744888382000},"page":"47-54","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Iron status in women of reproductive age in Morocco"],"prefix":"10.32394","volume":"76","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-9135-1956","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bouchra","family":"Mekkaoui","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1516-7623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nabila","family":"Auajjar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3082-4591","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdelhakim","family":"Yahyane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6207-6594","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laila","family":"El Ammari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9906-4551","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Salwa","family":"Labzizi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anouar","family":"Talouizte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-0514-8462","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hasnae","family":"Gamih","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7137-1955","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hassan","family":"Aguenaou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4153-5725","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kaoutar","family":"Benjeddou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9510-9257","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Khalid","family":"El Kari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"17323","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,17]]},"container-title":["Roczniki Pa\u0144stwowego Zak\u0142adu Higieny"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/roczniki.pzh.gov.pl\/pdf-203338-124559","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/roczniki.pzh.gov.pl\/pdf-203338-124559","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,26]],"date-time":"2025-06-26T13:39:14Z","timestamp":1750945154000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/roczniki.pzh.gov.pl\/Iron-status-in-women-of-reproductive-age-in-Morocco,203338,0,2.html"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,17]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025]]}},"alternative-id":["203338"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.32394\/rpzh\/203338","relation":{},"ISSN":["0035-7715","2451-2311"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0035-7715","type":"print"},{"value":"2451-2311","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,17]]}}}