Abstract
BackgroundAnemia remains a public health problem in Rwanda, affecting 38% of young children and 17% of reproductive-aged women (Demographic and Health Survey [DHS] 2010). The importance of iron deficiency (ID) as a cause of anemia in Rwanda is not known.ObjectiveWe aimed to estimate the prevalence of ID and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) among young children and women in 2 provinces of Rwanda.MethodsWe conducted a cluster randomized survey, selecting 408 rural households each in the Northern and Southern Provinces of Rwanda in 2010. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin <110 g/L in children and <120 g/L in nonpregnant women after correction for altitude. We defined ID as (1) serum transferrin receptor (TfR) >8.3 mg/L or (2) serum ferritin (SF) <12 µg/L in children and <15 µg/L in nonpregnant women after correction for inflammation.ResultsThe prevalence of anemia was 30.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 26.4-35.8) in children (n = 577) and 11.2% (95% CI, 8.4-14.7) in women (n = 595). The prevalence of ID in children was 3.1% (95% CI, 1.8-5.1) as defined by high TfR and 5.9% (95% CI, 4.0-8.4) as defined by low SF. Similarly, 3.0% (95% CI, 1.8-4.8) of women had high TfR and 4.8% (95% CI, 3.2-7.2) had low SF. The prevalence of IDA (low SF with concurrent anemia) ranged from 1.4% (95% CI, 0.5-3.6) among women in the North to 5.6% (95% CI, 3.1-10.0) among children in the South.ConclusionsID is likely not an important contributor to anemia in the Northern and Southern Provinces of Rwanda. This finding warrants further investigation into other causes of anemia.
Highlights
Iron deficiency (ID) is considered the leading cause of anemia globally.[1,2] The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 800 millionDespite recognition that iron deficiency (ID) poses a significant public health burden worldwide, there is very little survey data regionally or nationally using specific methods to measure iron status and estimate ID
362 households from the Northern Province and 346 households from the Southern Province participated in the study, resulting in 679 women and 650 children completing the survey and 595 nonpregnant women and 577 children providing valid biochemical results
The prevalence of ID is higher in comparison to what we found in our survey of the Northern and Southern Provinces, the proportion of women who were iron deficient was still low
Summary
Iron deficiency (ID) is considered the leading cause of anemia globally.[1,2] The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 800 millionDespite recognition that ID poses a significant public health burden worldwide, there is very little survey data regionally or nationally using specific methods to measure iron status and estimate ID. Iron deficiency (ID) is considered the leading cause of anemia globally.[1,2] The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 800 million. The importance of iron deficiency (ID) as a cause of anemia in Rwanda is not known. Objective: We aimed to estimate the prevalence of ID and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) among young children and women in 2 provinces of Rwanda. The prevalence of IDA (low SF with concurrent anemia) ranged from 1.4% (95% CI, 0.5-3.6) among women in the North to 5.6% (95% CI, 3.1-10.0) among children in the South. Conclusions: ID is likely not an important contributor to anemia in the Northern and Southern Provinces of Rwanda. This finding warrants further investigation into other causes of anemia
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