ArticlePloS one2026
Anemia among HIV‑positive women in LMICs: Multilevel analysis of recent DHS survey.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAnemia affects over 30% of women of reproductive age globally, with the highest burden in low‑ and middle‑income countries, and it poses additional risks for women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), including disease progression and reduced survival. Although previous studies report prevalence among HIV‑positive women ranging from 37.8% to 55.8%, most evidence comes from hospital‑based or high‑income settings, leaving a gap in population‑level data. Addressing this gap is critical, as women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often face overlapping vulnerabilities such as nutritional deficiencies, limited healthcare access, and high HIV burden. Using nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys, this study aims to estimate anemia prevalence and identify associated factors among HIV‑positive women to inform targeted interventions and integrated management strategies.
methodsA cross‑sectional study was conducted using Demographic and Health Survey data collected between 2022 and 2024 from nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, including 1,446 HIV‑positive women aged 15-49 years. Hemoglobin concentration was used to classify anemia based on World Health Organization (WHO) thresholds. Individual and community‑level factors were examined, and weighted data were analyzed using multilevel logistic regression to account for clustering. Associations were reported as adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.
resultsAmong HIV‑positive women in Africa and Asia, the prevalence of anemia was 50.62% (95% confidence interval (CI): 48.04-53.20%), with 19.29% classified as mild, 26.28% as moderate, and 5.05% as severe. Prevalence varied widely across countries, ranging from 71.43% in Mali to 12.00% in Tajikistan. Educational status [adjusted odds ration (AOR) = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.22-0.81], media exposure [AOR = 0.41; 95% CI: 0.19-0.87], contraceptive use [AOR = 2.37; 95% CI: 1.35-4.17], and iron supplementation during pregnancy [AOR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.04-4.55] were significantly associated with anemia.
conclusionsAnemia remains a major public health concern among HIV‑positive women, driven by reproductive, nutritional, and socio‑behavioral factors. Strengthening antenatal and HIV care programs, integrating family planning services, and promoting adherence to iron supplementation are critical strategies to reduce anemia risk. Tailored health communication and nutritional interventions, alongside future longitudinal studies, are essential to establish causal pathways and inform targeted interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.