Abstract
Introduction
Anemia appears as a common comorbidity in a different timing and underlying pathophysiology in people with MS (PwMS) and has been proposed as a prodrome finding in MS. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aims to fulfill the need to clarify some characteristics of anemia in PwMS.
Methods
A systematic literature search was performed using the MEDLINE PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Eligible studies underwent quality assessment using the Robins‐E, and a meta‐analysis of proportion was performed. The risk of anemia in PwMS versus healthy controls was calculated based on a subset of case–control studies. Reliability and robustness were assessed using leave‐one‐out analysis.
Results
In a pool of 143,879 PwMS across 21 studies, anemia had a pooled prevalence of 12.5% (95% CI [8.1%, 17.7%],
I
2
= 99.0%,
p
Q
= 0). In a subset of five studies, the relative risk of anemia between PwMS and healthy controls was 2.9 (95% CI [1.45, 5.79],
I
2
= 97.6%,
p
z
= 0.002,
p
Q
Conclusion
The intersection between anemia and MS presents a complex, multifaceted clinical challenge due to several pathophysiological mechanisms and DMT‐related interactions. Further structured studies are needed to evaluate the exact underlying mechanisms and the directionality of this relationship.