The cost-effectiveness of interventions used for the screening, diagnosis and management of anaemia in pregnancy: A systematic review

TL;DR

This review examines the cost-effectiveness of interventions for managing anemia in pregnancy, highlighting gaps in evidence and identifying effective strategies in low-resource settings.

Contribution

The study provides a systematic review of cost-effectiveness evidence for managing anemia in pregnancy, emphasizing interventions in low- and middle-income countries.

Findings

Intravenous iron supplements were found to be more cost-effective than oral supplements for iron deficiency anemia.

Multiple micronutrient supplements were more cost-effective than iron and folic acid supplements.

Cost-effective antimalarial regimens and delivery channels were identified for malaria-related anemia.

Abstract

An estimated 40% of pregnant women worldwide are anaemic, of which 80% live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The reality of finite health budgets, particularly in low-resource settings, means that interventions used for screening, diagnosing, and treating anaemia in pregnancy need to be informed by cost-effectiveness evidence. We conducted a systematic review to identify all studies evaluating the cost-effectiveness of managing anaemia in pregnancy. We searched two health economics (NHS EED and EconLit) and four medical (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus and CENTRAL) databases for relevant studies published up to the 9th of August 2024. Studies were eligible if they conducted an economic evaluation of any intervention used in the management of anaemia in pregnancy regardless of aetiology, provided that anaemia was a specified outcome. Data were extracted and study quality assessed by two independent reviewers using the extended CHEC-E tool. Due to significant heterogeneity, data were analysed narratively. 19 eligible cost-effectiveness studies were identified. Nine studies related to iron deficiency anaemia, finding that intravenous rather than oral iron supplements were cost-effective in most instances. Multiple micronutrient supplements were also found to be cost-effective compared to iron and folic acid supplements. Ten studies related to malaria-related anaemia, identifying several cost-effective antimalarial regimens; both preventative and therapeutic. Cost-effective delivery channels of antimalarials as well as non-pharmacological interventions were also identified. This review identifies several avenues through which the management of anaemia in pregnancy can be optimised from an economic perspective. Despite this, there is a significant deficit of cost-effectiveness evidence relating to this condition, which limited the deduction of cost-effectiveness for many of the interventions assessed.

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