Effect of Anemia on Work Productivity in Both Labor- and Nonlabor-Intensive Occupations: A Systematic Narrative Synthesis

Abstract

Background: Anemia is highly prevalent particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Iron deficiency contributes to an estimated 50% of anemia cases. Iron interventions have become central to global anemia treatment and prevention; however, few iron interventions have been scaled up to the national level, despite their proven effectiveness. While both cross-sectional and interventional studies on the effect of anemia and iron supplementation on worker productivity have been conducted, there have been few systematic reviews conducted. As such, a synthesis of previously conducted primary research is warranted and may provide a more comprehensive overview of the strength of currently available evidence, potentially helping to inform national policy on matters relating to funding and legislation for population-level iron interventions. Objectives: The objective of this study was to synthesize available evidence on the effect of both anemia and therapeutic iron interventions on productivity in working adults. Methods: All relevant English language studies were systematically obtained from both MEDLINE and EMBASE and assessed for evidence of differing productivity levels across groups stratified by iron intervention or anemia status. Potential mediating variables were reported, and the results were narratively summarized. Results: The available data from 12 included studies provide strong evidence that anemia negatively impacts occupational performance and that therapeutic iron interventions can yield substantial productivity gains. Conclusions: Despite their limitations, these findings make an important contribution to the literature highlighting the impact of iron deficiency and population-wide iron interventions on work productivity and occupational performance.

The relationship of daily income, marital status, nutritional status and anemia with work-related fatigue among wanita tukang suun in the heritage area of Badung Market post the COVID-19 pandemic

“…This is because anemia causes Hb levels in the blood to become low so that the oxygen supply to the muscles becomes disrupted and causes fatigue more quickly. The condition of anemia in women becomes worse due to the influence of the menstrual cycle and the birth process which is not accompanied by food intake that contains sufficient iron [17]. In our study, most of the wanita tukang suun.…”

Betel quid use is associated with anemia among both men and women in Matlab, Bangladesh

“…Anemia contributes to declines in physical and cognitive functioning in elderly populations, and reduces productivity among working age adults [ 14 ]. Anemia among the working age adult population contributes to reduced labor productivity, continuing cycles of poverty [ 18 ].…”

Anaemia in India and Its Prevalence and Multifactorial Aetiology: A Narrative Review

“…While the pathophysiological consequences of anaemia have been well established, the direct effect of anaemia and/or iron deficiency status on more tangible functional parameters such as occupational performance and work productivity has been less investigated and is less tangible. However, strong evidence that anaemia negatively impacts occupational performance has been reported [ 52 ]. Another study evaluated the economic benefit in terms of increased wages in relation to the introduction of Double Fortified Salt resulting in a reduction in anaemia and the relative cost [ 53 ].…”