Table 3.

Search strategy according to PICO criteria

Population	‘women*’ [Mesh] OR ‘women*reproductive age*’ OR pregnant* OR married* OR non-pregnant* OR ‘married woman*’ OR ‘married pregnant woman’ OR ‘married non-pregnant woman’ OR ‘pregnant women’ ‘reproductive age’ OR ‘non-pregnant women’ ‘reproductive age’ [Mesh]) AND
Intervention	Iron supplements OR Iron therapy OR Iron tablets [MeSH Terms]) OR Iron fish [MeSH Terms]) OR Iron fortification [MeSH Terms]) OR iron medication [MeSH Terms]) OR iron in any form [MeSH Terms]) OR iron syrup [MeSH Terms]) OR iron rich diet[MeSH Terms]) OR iron rich fruits, vegetables, meat [MeSH Terms]) AND
Comparison	The comparison group is women who are given interventions other than iron or assigned to a placebo
Outcome	Anemia OR Hemoglobin levels OR Hemoglobin concentrations OR Hemoglobin status OR low Hemoglobin levels OR low Hemoglobin concentrations OR ‘low hematocrit levels’ OR Anemia symptoms OR paleness AND