Correlation of pallor with hemoglobin levels and clinical profile of anemia in primary and middle school children of rural Telangana

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 2 billion individuals or about 40% of the world’s population suffer from anemia. The population groups with the highest prevalence of anemia are: pregnant women and the elderly (about 50%), infants and children 1 to 2 years (48%), school children (40%), non-pregnant women (35%), and preschoolers (25%). Methods: The study was conducted at MediCiti Institute of Medical Sciences. 1007 children were screened clinically and their blood samples collected and analyzed by hemocue instrument. A complete physical examination was done for all these children. Results: The maximum number of subjects belongs to the nine year old category. Boys constituted 46% of the study population while girls constituted 54% of the study population. Anemia is more prevalent in female subjects than males. In the present study, clinical pallor was present in 16.48% of the subjects. In specific, conjunctival pallor was noted in 9.43%, generalized pallor of skin noted in 4.96% and palmar crease pallor was noted in 1.88% of subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of clinical pallor in diagnosing anemia is 94.02% and 93.71% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of palmar pallor in diagnosing severe anemia is 100% and 98.21% respectively. Conclusions: The clinical finding of pallor in a child is a reliable indicator of anemia. The presence of clinical pallor in any of the body sites (conjunctival pallor, skin pallor, palmar pallor) is a reliable indicator of anemia. The presence of palmar crease pallor is a good indicator of severe anemia in children. By effective implementation of mid-day meal scheme, the incidence of anemia could be brought down effectively.