Determinants of Anemia in Pre-School Children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Abstract

This paper presents the main findings of an analysis linking the dependent variable - anemia in pre-school children - to its determinants, to identify priority groups for action. The study was a cross sectional survey of randomly selected pre-school children 6-59 months (n = 3331) in the occupied Palestinian territory during the current uprising. Anemia (Hb <11 g/dl) in children was determined by a blood sample. Other indicators were examined; 24 variables related to the family, housing, maternal and child characteristics, in addition to changes in income and food intake that occurred during the uprising. Multivariate analysis revealed that anemia was independently related to reduction in income, iron intake, infrequent gastrointestinal infections, stunting and current breast feeding status. In addition, region was an independent risk factor for anemia - in the West Bank there were fewer anemic children in the age group 6-35 months compared to children from the same age group living in the Gaza Strip.