Abstract

Background: Although many studies have linked caffeine to the risk of anemia in pregnant women, but in many of them contradictory results have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate association between caffeine intake and anemia risk in pregnant women.

Methods: Related papers were found by searching through PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar up to 14/09/2020. Prospective cohort studies examined the association between relationship between caffeine intake and anemia risk in pregnant women, were included. The random-effects model was used to pool the reported relative risks (RR).

Results: Six prospective studies, including 4910 participants were included. Based on overall pooled results, we found a significantly higher risk (Pooled risk estimate: 1.57; 95% CI; 1.07 to 2.32, P=0.022). The association between anemia and caffeine was significant in studies which conducted in the middle east countries (pooled risk estimate: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.18–1.69, P< 0.001), participants used coffee as a source of caffeine (pooled risk estimate: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.21–1.86, P< 0.001), more than 3 times a week (pooled risk estimate: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.28–2.42, P< 0.001).

Conclusion: Our found a positive association between caffeine consumption and the risk of anemia in pregnant women. Longer studies with more control over future factors provide clearer information on caffeine consumption in the development of anemia during pregnancy.

Keywords: Caffeine; Anemia; Pregnant women