Anemia In Preschool Children Research Articles

Field trial of a haemoglobin colour scale: an effective tool to detect anaemia in preschool children

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Haemoglobin Colour Scale, developed by Stott and Lewis, to diagnose anaemia in a primary health care setting where anaemia was prevalent and severe. Three measures of anaemia were compared in 535 preschool children: haemoglobin based on the Haemoglobin Colour Scale, clinical assessment in three sites (conjunctiva, palm and nail bed) and haemoglobin based on a digital haemoglobinometer (HemoCue method) taken as gold standard. A statistically significant correlation (r = 0.80, coefficient = 0.77 and Y intercept = 2.33) was obtained between the results of the Haemoglobin Colour Scale and the HemoCue. In more than 80% of cases, the difference between the colour scale readings and the results of the HemoCue was within 1 g/dl. Of 415 anaemic children (Hb < 11 g/dl by HemoCue), 85.2% were so identified by the Haemoglobin Colour Scale and 19.7% were classified anaemic by clinical pallor. Of 19 severely anaemic children (Hb < 7 g/dl by HemoCue), 73.6% were identified as severely anaemic and 100% were classified as anaemic by the colour scale, 61.1% were classified as anaemic using clinical pallor. We found the Haemoglobin Colour Scale to be a useful tool in identifying anaemic and severely anaemic children. Efficiencies in term of cost, accuracy and time make it an important resource in primary health care settings in developing countries. Further testing with other staff in other settings is recommended to determine the usefulness of large-scale distribution.

Risk factors for iron deficiency anaemia in preschool children in northern Ethiopia.

To determine risk factors for anaemia in preschool children. A cross-sectional study. Tigray province, northern Ethiopia. 2080 of 2373 children aged 6-60 months provided blood to assess anaemia. Anaemia was highly prevalent (42%) and constituted an important nutritional problem in the region. In a sub-sample of 230 anaemic children, 56% had a low red blood cell (RBC) count, and 43% had a serum ferritin of less than 12 microgl(-1) indicating that the anaemia was largely due to iron deficiency. Unlike other regions in developing countries, hookworm (0.4%) and malaria (0.0%) were rare and contributed little to the anaemia. Even though their diet lacked variety, the amount of iron consumed through cereal-based staple foods was adequate. However, the iron in these foods was not readily available and their diets were probably high in iron absorption inhibitors and low in enhancers. Dietary factors associated with anaemia included frequent consumption of inhibitors, such as fenugreek and coffee, and poor health in the child such as diarrhoea and stunting. Underlying causes of anaemia were lack of safe water and inadequate human waste management, maternal illiteracy and mother being ill, and having no food reserves. The root cause of these factors was poverty. The optimal control strategy for iron deficiency anaemia should have a holistic approach which includes the alleviation of poverty, the empowerment of women and the provision of a safe environment.

Iron status and anaemia in preschool children in Sydney.

The purpose of this study was to determine the iron status of preschool children in Sydney. We assessed 678 children aged 9 to 62 months living in 32 randomly selected census collection districts in central and southern Sydney for iron status using plasma ferritin; of these 678 children, 542 had zinc protoporphyrin tests, red cell indices and haemoglobin tests. Risk factors for iron deficiency were assessed by an administered questionnaire. Overall, the prevalence of iron depletion was 10.5 per cent, iron deficiency 2.8 per cent and iron deficiency anaemia 1.1 per cent. The 24-to-35-month age group (176 children) had the highest prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia of 3.0 per cent although iron depletion (18.7 per cent) and iron deficiency (5.4 per cent) were highest among the 9-to-23-month age group (182 children). Low iron status was related to age of under 24 months (odds ratio (OR) 2.86,95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 1.72 to 4.76). After adjustment for this age effect, the consumption of red meat fewer than four times a week was significantly associated with iron depletion (OR 2.27, CI 1.25 to 4.17) and there was a tendency for children who were being given a vitamin supplement to be less likely to be iron depleted (OR 4.00, CI 0.95 to 16.67). Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia do not represent a major public health problem in preschool children in Sydney. However, for children in the age range of 12 to 36 months there is scope for interventions to further reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia.

Drinking water as an iron carrier to control anemia in preschool children in a day-care center.

Several foods have been used as iron (Fe) carriers to fight widespread global Fe deficiency and anemia. This paper describes the longitudinal effect of Fe-fortified drinking water given to a group of Brazilian preschool children. The experimental design included 31 preschool children who attended a day-care institution. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin were the blood parameters used to check the Fe status. Fe++ sulfate (20 mg Fe/L) was added daily to their drinking water container and measurements were obtained before the addition, 4 and 8 months later. The number of Fe-deficient children decreased drastically after they started drinking the Fe-enriched water. Mean hemoglobin values increased from 10.6 to 13.7 g/dL and serum ferritin from 13.7 to 25.6 micrograms/L. There were no problems related to the salt addition or to the children drinking the Fe-enriched water. Fe-enriched drinking water was shown to be a practical alternative to supply Fe to children attending a day-care institution.

Iron status of Inner-city elementary school children: lack of correlation between anemia and iron deficiency

The iron status of 103 inner-city third and fourth graders was evaluated. These children had significantly lower hemoglobin concentrations and significantly higher serum ferritin concentrations than values previously reported. Mean erythrocyte protoporphyrin concentrations agree with previous results whereas mean corpuscular volume was significantly lower than in some previous studies. Though 11 children (10.7%) were anemic, only 1 anemic child had another abnormal measure of iron status. Three children (2.9%) had a low serum ferritin concentration along with another abnormal measure of iron status. Four children (3.9%) had at least two abnormal measurements of iron status without an elevated blood lead concentration. These results agree with recent observations of decreasing rates of anemia in preschool children. The poor utility of hemoglobin measures to identify iron-deficient children suggests the need for alternate screening methods, and the relatively high serum ferritin concentration suggests a trend of rising iron stores in school-age children.

Anemia in Bangladesh: A Longstanding, Preventable Public Health Problem

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmj.v39i3.8471

Anemia in preschool children in the United States of America.

Extract: Hematocrit values were determined for nearly 7000 preschool children from low socio-economic backgrounds in five cities of the United States: Gainesville, Chicago, Houston, Jacksonville and Augusta. The mean hematocrit for the entire group was 36.32 % ± 2.8%. Although severe anemia was unusual, the incidence of significant anemia (hematocrit < 31 %) showed considerable variation from city to city, ranging from 0.6 to 7.7 % and was unaffected by iron supplementation.