The Quality and Dissemination of Health Information Pertaining to Iron-Deficiency Anemia on TikTok : A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) remains a major global public health challenge, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as women of reproductive age and children. While social media platforms like TikTok have become primary channels for health information dissemination, the quality and reach of IDA-related educational content on these platforms remain underexplored. This study systematically evaluated the quality, source characteristics, and user engagement of IDA-related short videos on the Chinese TikTok platform. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we screened the top 100 “iron deficiency anemia” videos on TikTok. After excluding advertisements, duplicates, non-Chinese content, and poor-quality videos, 72 were included. We recorded uploader type, educational background, professional credentials, content category, duration, and engagement metrics (likes, shares, collects, comments). Quality was assessed using GQS, mDISCERN, and JAMA criteria. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Kruskal–Wallis H tests, Spearman correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results Of the 72 videos analyzed, 66.67% (n = 48) were uploaded by healthcare professionals, followed by organizations (18.06%) and general users (15.27%). Disease knowledge dissemination was the most common content category (56.94%). Median quality scores were: GQS 3 (IQR 2–4), mDISCERN 3 (IQR 3–3), and JAMA 2 (IQR 1–3), indicating moderate overall quality. Subgroup analysis showed that videos from uploaders with doctoral degrees and medical institutions scored significantly higher across all tools ( P  < 0.01). User engagement metrics were strongly intercorrelated (R = 0.81–0.92, P  < 0.001) but weakly correlated with quality scores. Multiple linear regression identified likes (β = 0.231, P  < 0.001), shares (β = 0.145, P  = 0.027), and mDISCERN score (β = 0.278, P  < 0.001) as positive predictors of GQS, while JAMA score was a negative predictor (β = -0.135, P  = 0.035). Conclusion Although medical professionals are the primary contributors, the overall quality of IDA-related TikTok content remains moderate, with limited depth, evidence, and actionability. The weak correlation between user engagement and objective quality scores underscores the complexity of health communication on social media. These findings highlight the need for enhanced content moderation, creator training, and improved public health literacy to foster critical evaluation of online health information.