Objective:

To describe the anemia prevalence among women from 20 to 49 years from 2016-Halfway National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut MC 2016) and compare the trends in 2006, 2012 and 2016 surveys, as well as its association with dietary iron and sociodemographic factors.

Materials and methods:

The methodological design of Ensanut MC is fully comparable with Ensanut 2006 and 2012. Capillary hemoglobin (Hb) was obtained and those values <120 g/L were classified as anemic. Pregnant women were excluded from the analysis.

Results:

Anemia prevalence is higher in Ensanut MC 2016 when compared with Ensanut 2012 (p<0.001), differences can be found by age-groups, locality (urban-rural) and country region (North, Center, Mexico City and South). Logistic model showed an increase in anemia prevalence in 2016.

Conclusions:

Anemia decrease from 2006 to 2012 was followed by an increase in 2016. It is necessary to identify potential risk factors that could be promoting anemia prevalence rising as well as estimate the iron-rich foods intake whit 24 hours recall.