Abstract
BackgroundAnemia, the world’s most common micro-nutrient deficiency disorder, can affect a person at any time and at all stages of life. Though all members of the community may face the problem, children aged 6–23 months are particularly at higher risk. If left untreated, it adversely affects the health, cognitive development, school achievement, and work performance. However, little was investigated among young children in Sub-Saharan countries including Ethiopia. This research aimed to investigate its magnitude and correlates to address the gap and guide design of evidence based intervention.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May -June 2016 in rural districts of Wolaita Zone. Multi-stage sampling technique was applied and 990 mother-child pairs were selected. Socio-demography, health and nutritional characteristics were collected by administering interview questionnaire to mothers/care-givers. Blood samples were taken to diagnose anemia by using HemoCue device, and the status was determined using cut-offs used for children aged 6–59 months. Hemoglobin concentration below 11.0 g/dl was considered anemic. Data were analyzed with Stata V14. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were applied to identify candidates and predictor variables respectively. Statistical significance was determined at p-value < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval.ResultsThe mean hemoglobin level of children was 10.44±1.3g/dl, and 65.7% of them were anemic. Among anemic children, 0.4% were severely anemic (<7.0g/dl), while 28.1% and 37.2% were mildly (10.0–10.9g/dl) and moderately (7.0–9.9g/dl) anemic, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, having maternal age of 35 years and above (AOR = 1.96), being government employee (AOR = 0.29), being merchant (AOR = 0.43) and ‘other’ occupation (AOR = 3.17) were correlated with anemia in children in rural Wolaita. Similarly, receiving anti-helminthic drugs (AOR = 0.39), being female child (AOR = 1.76), consuming poor dietary diversity (AOR = 1.40), and having moderate household food insecurity (AOR = 1.72) were associated with anemia in rural Wolaita.ConclusionA large majority of children in the rural Wolaita were anemic and the need for proven public health interventions such as food diversification, provision of anti-helminthic drugs and ensuring household food security is crucial. In addition, educating women on nutrition and diet diversification, as well as engaging them with alternative sources of income might be interventions in the study area.
Highlights
Anemia is the world’s most common micro-nutrient deficiency disorder that affects more than 2 billion people globally [1]
Anemia remains one of the major health problems that result in grave health outcomes in developing countries despite the progresses seen in nutrition interventions
The present study showed that maternal age, type of occupation, child’s anti-helminthic drug intake, sex of child, dietary diversity score and household food insecurity were associated with child anemia
Summary
Anemia is the world’s most common micro-nutrient deficiency disorder that affects more than 2 billion people globally [1]. Anemia can adversely affect the health, cognitive development, school achievement, and work performance of individuals. Iron deficiency anemia leads to reduced academic achievement and work capacity which intern reduces the earning potential of individuals and damages national economic growth at large [5]. It increases the risks of mortality and morbidity which come from other diseases [4, 8]. Though all members of the community may face the problem, children aged 6–23 months are at higher risk If left untreated, it adversely affects the health, cognitive development, school achievement, and work performance.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
