Abstract
BackgroundAnaemia is a major public health problem in developing countries, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality amongst children under-five years of age. About 43 % of under-fives are anaemic worldwide, and two-thirds reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Even where blood transfusion is available for treatment there is still a significant case fatality rate ranging between 6 and 18 %. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and morphological types of anaemia, as well as factors associated with severe anaemia in under-five children admitted at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC).MethodsThis was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study conducted between November 2012 and February 2013. Selected laboratory investigations were done on children admitted to BMC. Anaemia was defined using WHO criteria.ResultsA total of 448 under-five children were recruited into the study. The overall prevalence of anaemia was 77.2 % (346/448) with mild, moderate and severe anaemia being 16.5, 33 and 27.7 % respectively. Microcytic hypochromic anaemia was detected in 37.5 % of the children with anaemia. Of 239 children with moderate and severe anaemia, 22.6 % (54/239) had iron deficiency anaemia based on serum ferritin level less than12 μg/ml. The factors associated with severe anaemia included unemployment of the parent, malaria parasitaemia and presence of sickle haemoglobin.ConclusionThe prevalence of anaemia among under-five children admitted at BMC was high. Iron deficiency anaemia was the most common type. Factors associated with severe anaemia were unemployment among caretakers, malaria parasitaemia and presence of sickle haemoglobin.
Highlights
Anaemia is a major public health problem in developing countries, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality amongst children under-five years of age
Baseline characteristics of children with anaemia To analyze for morphological types of anaemia and factors associated with severe anaemia, 37 children were excluded from 346 children, due to the following reasons; 32 children had blood transfusion prior to admission, 1 child underwent surgery and 4 children had active bleeding
In this study we found a significant association between age above 2 years and severe anaemia in univariate analysis but not in multivariate analysis
Summary
Anaemia is a major public health problem in developing countries, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality amongst children under-five years of age. Anaemia is a major public health problem in developing countries [1]. The global estimate of childhood anaemia indicates that 293.1 million (approximately 43 %) of children under five years are anaemic worldwide and 28.5 % of these children are residing in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) [1]. It is considered a major public health problem reaching 67 % prevalence, equivalent to 83.5 million children in sSA [1]. The hospital records from Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) indicate that
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
