A cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence and contributing factors of anaemia in private school children in Bengaluru

Abstract

Background: Anaemia is defined as an Hb concentration below the diagnostic reference range in children. Most school-aged children have anaemia, which is a common clinical disease. The effects of anaemia in school-age children include decreased resistance to disease, greater susceptibility to infection, poorer physical development, and poor academic performance. Consequently, the current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anaemia among Bengaluru private school students. This involved being aware of the contributing elements or causes of anaemia, as well as teaching schoolchildren about the disease’s complications and prevention. Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among children studying in private school from the 3rd to 8th standards in Bengaluru urban north division Karnataka state over a period of one year (March 2021 to March 2022). A total of 86 children were selected using a convenient sampling method. Results: The overall prevalence of anaemia among school-going children was found to be (20.9%). Prevalence of anaemia was strongly significant among variables like; enlarged spleen or liver, pallor skin, splenomegaly and hepatomegaly, mizāj ‘ām, chronic infection, pallor mucous membrane of mouth and consumption of milk respectively. Conclusions: Anaemia remains a public health concern in our country. In our study, the overall prevalence of anaemia among school-going children was lower (20.9%) in compression compared to recently published data by (NFHS-5), which showed a prevalence of 65.5% in children in Karnataka.