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Background: Iron deficiency anemia is a prevalent condition among children in developing and developed countries that leads to impaired development, activity intolerance, behavioral changes, irritability, and reduced learning ability. The studies conducted in Iran have reported different prevalence rates for this condition. This systematic review and meta-analysis were aimed at estimating the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in Iranian children under 6 years of age. Methodology: Persian and English articles published from 2001 to 2018 were collected. The search process was conducted in national and internationals databases, including SID, MagIran, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, using the following keywords and their combinations: Iron, Iron deficiency, Iron deficiency anemia, Ferritin, Child, Children, and Iran. The data were analyzed using the meta-analysis and random effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I 2 statistic. All analyses were performed using the STATA software, version 12. Results: Analysis of six selected articles with a total sample size of 1,700 showed that the prevalence rates of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in the Iranian children under 6 years of age were 27.7% (95% CI: 11.9–43.5) and 18.2% (95% CI: 14.3–22), respectively. In addition, the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was higher in boys (17.7% with 95% CI: 5.9–29.5) than in girls (14.4% with 95% CI: 4.5–24.2). Conclusion: About one-fifth of Iranian children under the age of 6 years suffer from iron deficiency anemia. Identification of those at risk of developing this condition with the goal of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment seems to be an important and necessary task.

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Telemedicine (TLM) is a technique of telecommunication used to create, promote, or accelerate health services. Because of its societal significance, the current study attempted to demonstrate its essential applications in the health sector and the challenges, obstacles, and opportunities that lie ahead. Various studies and reports were received based on the subject of the current study, first using MeSH terms related to the subject in authentic and available international databases. After that, 30-related articles were selected based on the study criteria, and then the required results were extracted from the selected studies. The study results showed that TLM has a significant role in more than 13 major areas of health and treatment, and in most of these areas, it has made the relevant affairs easier for both patients and medical staff. Although TLM has many advantages, it still has obstacles and challenges requiring further studies to manage this technology better. Given the high importance of the TLM in the health sector in most countries worldwide, efforts are needed to promote this technology and remove the obstacles in front of it. Therefore, further evaluations of TLM efficiency in terms of economics, speed of action, effectiveness, and the provision of infrastructure are necessary to overcome the obstacles highlighted based on the results of these studies and improve the efficiency of using this technology.

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