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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Apr 9.
Published in final edited form as: J Nutr. 2023 Sep 29;153(Suppl 1):S29–S41. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.05.032

FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 3.

An illustrative example of overestimation of attribution to anemia when not accounting for multiple underlying characteristics: national survey data children 6–59 mo, Malawi 2015–2016 (n = 819). The maximum effect is an illustrative overestimation of how much anemia might be removed if the condition was ameliorated from the population. The maximum effect was calculated by dividing the prevalence of anemia and the condition (for example, iron deficiency anemia) by the prevalence of anemia. The attributable fraction was calculated as the proportion exposed * (RR − 1) / [1 + proportion exposed * (RR − 1)], where the adjusted prevalence ratio was substituted for the RR. Iron deficiency was defined as inflammation-adjusted serum ferritin using the Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia method; inflammation was defined as CRP >5 mg/L or AGP >1 g/L; alpha-thalassemia is the presence of 1 or 2 deletions; and low vitamin B12 was defined as <220 pmol/L. AGP, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein; CRP, C-reactive protein; RR, relative risk.