Abstract
Background Anemia is a problem of both the developed and developing world, which occurs in all age groups of the population. Half of the anemia cases are due to iron deficiency and affects physical growth and mental development. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of information about anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6 to 23 months in low-income countries like Ethiopia. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6–23 months. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study design was used among 531 mothers/caregivers-children pairs in Debre Berhan Town, North Shewa, Ethiopia, from February 1 to March 2, 2018. The cluster sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Sociodemographic data were collected from mothers/caregivers using pretested structured questionnaires. Hemoglobin levels were measured using a HemoCue analyzer machine (HemoCue® Hb 301, Ängelholm, Sweden). All relevant data were described using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, proportions, mean, and standard deviation. Odds ratio and 95% CI were estimated using binary logistic regression to measure the strength of the association between anemia and explanatory variables. The level of statistical significance was declared at P < 0.05. Results The overall prevalence of anemia was 47.5% (95% CI: 43.1–51.4%) of which 18.3% were mildly anemic, 25% were moderately anemic, and 4.1% were severely anemic. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, household food insecurity (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.6–4.5), unmet minimum dietary diversity (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.4–4.3), stunting (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2–4.3), and underweight (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4–5.4) positively associated with anemia while having ≥4 antenatal care visits (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3–0.9) and met minimum meal frequency (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.14–0.45) had a protective effect against anemia. Conclusion Generally, the study showed that anemia was a severe public health problem among infants and young children in the study setting. Antenatal care visit, meal frequency, dietary diversity, underweight, stunting, and food insecurity significantly associated with anemia. Therefore, efforts should be made to strengthen infant and young child feeding practices and antenatal care utilization and ensure household food security, thereby improving the nutritional status of children.
Highlights
Nutrition during the first 1000 days is very critical for child health, growth, cognitive development, and productivity in later life [1]
Children have rapid physical growth, mental development, and the highest nutritional demand in the first two years of life. is period of life is coupled with the introduction of complementary foods, which are low in their iron content and can result in anemia. us, inadequate nutrition leaves short-term and long-term irreversible effects on physical growth and mental development [2, 3]
Studies conducted in Gondar Town, Gondar University Hospital, and Adigrat Hospital showed that the magnitude of anemia among pregnant women was 56.8%, 22.2%, and 7.9%, respectively [12,13,14]
Summary
Nutrition during the first 1000 days is very critical for child health, growth, cognitive development, and productivity in later life [1]. Children have rapid physical growth, mental development, and the highest nutritional demand in the first two years of life. Anemia is defined as a low hemoglobin concentration in the blood leading to poor oxygenation of body tissue It occurs at all age groups at one point in the life cycle but mostly affects reproductive age women and under-five children [4, 5]. E 2016 systematic analysis of 25 sub-Saharan African countries (SSA) revealed that 71.1% of children aged 6–23 months were anemic [9]. There is a scarcity of information about anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6 to 23 months in low-income countries like Ethiopia. E aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6–23 months.
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