Screening of iron deficiency anemia in children with chronic functional constipation

Abstract

Background Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies worldwide. Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders in childhood. Aim To screen for IDA or iron deficiency (ID) among children with chronic functional constipation (CFC). Patients and methods It was a prospective study. Two groups of children in the age range of 1–15 years were collected for 6 months from June 2022 to December 2022 at Alexandria University gastroenterology clinic. Children who fulfilled Rome IV criteria of CFC were assigned to CFC group. Children who did not have constipation were considered as the control group. Complete blood count, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, and serum ferritin were done for both groups. Data were fed to the computer and analyzed using IBM SPSS software package version 20.0. Quantitative data were described using range (minimum and maximum), mean, standard deviation, and median. Results Hemoglobin levels, serum ferritin and serum iron were significantly lower in the CFC group when matched with the control group. ID and IDA were significantly higher in the CFC group. The longer days of constipation were correlated with significantly lower hemoglobin, serum iron, and serum ferritin. Conclusion CFC causes mild IDA or ID. The longer the days of CF, the lower values of hemoglobin, iron and ferritin are present. ID and IDA are more common in the CFC group.