Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) during pregnancy is prevalent in the US, with a rate of 18%. This study aims to investigate the screening practices for anemia among pregnant women at the University of Michigan (UM) and explore potential racial disparities in these practices.

The study, which included 16,073 pregnant women who received prenatal care at UM, found that while screening for anemia was common, Caucasian women were slightly more likely to be screened than African American women (98.88% vs. 97.47%). Anemia was more prevalent among African American women (39.79%) compared to Caucasian women (21.41%). Additionally, African American women had a lower mean hemoglobin (Hgb) and mean corpuscular volume than Caucasian women. Despite low testing rates for iron deficiency with ferritin or transferrin saturation, nearly one-third of the women received iron supplementation, with African American women more likely to be prescribed iron than Caucasian women (45.65% vs. 28.81%). These findings highlight the need for further research to determine the effectiveness of empirically prescribing iron supplements without thorough laboratory workup and to address the disparities in anemia screening and management.

Reference: Shevell L, Sood S. Racial Disparities in Screening and Management of Anemia Among Pregnant Women. Blood. 2022;140 Suppl 1: 7979–7980. doi: 10.1182/blood-2022-169188.