Double Burden of Malnutrition Prevalence in Pregnant Women: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Summary

This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesised 62 studies to estimate the global prevalence of double burden of malnutrition in pregnant women, a condition defined by WHO as the coexistence of undernutrition or overweight/obesity with diet-related noncommunicable diseases and micronutrient deficiencies. The most prevalent phenotypes were overweight/obesity with vitamin D deficiency (21%) and overweight/obesity with anaemia (9%). The authors highlight the critical need for equitable access to healthy diets and evidence-based supplementation programmes to address these overlapping nutritional challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Regional applicability

Although this is a global meta-analysis, the findings are most directly applicable to low- and middle-income countries where DBM is identified as particularly prevalent and concerning. United Kingdom pregnancy nutrition policy and antenatal care already address both overweight/obesity and micronutrient deficiency screening, but the co-occurrence patterns identified may inform targeted supplementation and dietary counselling strategies in UK clinical practice.

Key measures

Prevalence of DBM phenotypes: underweight with GDM, underweight with hypertension, overweight/obesity with anemia, overweight/obesity with vitamin D deficiency, overweight/obesity with vitamin B12 deficiency, overweight/obesity with folate deficiency. Risk of bias assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute tools; certainty of evidence evaluated using GRADE framework.

Outcomes reported

Systematic review and meta-analysis estimating global prevalence of double burden of malnutrition (DBM) in pregnant women, defined as coexistence of undernutrition or overweight/obesity with diet-related noncommunicable diseases and/or micronutrient deficiencies. The review synthesised 62 studies covering 1,386,245 pregnant women.

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