Abstract
BackgroundAnaemia is one of the major causes of death among children under five years in Africa, with a prevalence of 64.6% among pre-school children. In 2014, we conducted a cross-sectional study in Namutumba district in East-central Uganda to determine the prevalence and factors associated with anaemia among children aged 6 to 59 months.MethodsWe conducted a household survey in 376 randomly selected households. One child aged 6 to 59 months was randomly sampled from each selected household. A structured questionnaire administered to an adult caregiver was used to collect household data. Blood was collected by finger or heel prick to estimate the haemoglobin level using a portable haemocue analyser. Anthropometric data including age, weight and height was collected for each child. A modified poisson regression model was used to determine the correlates of anaemia, prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsThe prevalence of anaemia was high (58.8%) and was highest among children aged 12 to 23 months (68.5%) and males (61.3%). About 27.7% children were stunted. Children aged 6–11 and 12–23 months were more likely to be anaemic (APR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.05–1.19 and APR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.00–1.24 respectively), Resident of Magada and Namutumba (urban areas) were less likely to be anaemic (APR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.87–0.91and APR = 0.86; 95% CI: 0. 85–0.88 respectively). Children of caretakers of a big family size (seven or more children) and with any formal education were less likely to be anaemic (APR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.89–0.99 and APR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.87–0.99). Stunting (HAZ scores) was a predictor of anaemia (APR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.02–1.12).ConclusionAnaemia is highly prevalent among children and there is need to invest in measures to prevent anaemia, especially among children in the rural areas.
Highlights
Anaemia is one of the major causes of death among children under five years in Africa, with a prevalence of 64.6% among pre-school children
Despite several interventions like de-worming, malarial presumptive treatment, provision of fortified complimentary foods or enriched foods [9, 10] that have been put in place to increase the iron status of children less than five years, anaemia remains a challenge in Uganda
A total of 378 children aged 6 to 59 months were identified for the study from Magada, Namutumba and Bulange sub-counties
Summary
Anaemia is one of the major causes of death among children under five years in Africa, with a prevalence of 64.6% among pre-school children. In 2014, we conducted a cross-sectional study in Namutumba district in East-central Uganda to determine the prevalence and factors associated with anaemia among children aged 6 to 59 months. In Africa, the prevalence of anaemia among preschool children is estimated at 64.6% [4], community-based estimates of anaemia prevalence among children in settings where malaria is endemic range from 49 to 76% [5]. It is estimated that 50% of children under five years in Uganda have anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia among children in the East Central region of Uganda, the setting for this study is even higher at 67.5% [11].
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