Frequency of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Children from 6 months to 6 years
Arooj Ashraf, Rabeya Rehman, Asima Khanam, Suneelas Haukat, Hassan Wajahat, Nazish Hameed
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ABSTRACT
Aim: To determine the frequency of iron deficiency among children with anemia
aged six months to sixty months.
Material: This cross-sectional descriptive study including200children with anemia of
both genders aged between 6 to 60 months was conducted a Department of
Pediatric Medicine, DHQ Teaching Hospital Sargodha from 3rd July
2017 to 2nd January 2018. Serum ferritin levels were estimated for
diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia.
Results: Mean age of the children was 17.6±11.5 months. There were 107(53.5%)
male and 93(46.5%) female children. The mean weight of the children was 10.6±2.2
Kg while the mean height was 82.6±9.5 cm, respectively. Majority (47.5%) of the
children belonged to lower class. Iron deficiency was diagnosed in 75 (37.5%)
children with anemia. The frequency of iron deficiency was significantly higher
in children from rural areas (43.6% vs. 25.4%; p-value=0.012) and those
belonging to poor class as compared to middle and high class (48.4% vs. 38.5%
vs. 21.2%; p-value=0.002), while there was no significant difference across age
(p-value=0.963), gender (p-value=0.971), height (p-value=0.936) and weight
(p-value=1.000) groups.
Conclusions: A substantial proportion of children with anemia had iron deficiency
particularly those from rural areas and lower socioeconomic class which
warrants routine screening of such children in future practice so that timely
identification and iron supplementation may improve the outcome.
Keywords: Anemia, Under 5 Children, Iron Deficiency
ABSTRACT
Aim: To determine the frequency of iron deficiency among children with anemia
aged six months to sixty months.
Material: This cross-sectional descriptive study including200children with anemia of
both genders aged between 6 to 60 months was conducted a Department of
Pediatric Medicine, DHQ Teaching Hospital Sargodha from 3rd July
2017 to 2nd January 2018. Serum ferritin levels were estimated for
diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia.
Results: Mean age of the children was 17.6±11.5 months. There were 107(53.5%)
male and 93(46.5%) female children. The mean weight of the children was 10.6±2.2
Kg while the mean height was 82.6±9.5 cm, respectively. Majority (47.5%) of the
children belonged to lower class. Iron deficiency was diagnosed in 75 (37.5%)
children with anemia. The frequency of iron deficiency was significantly higher
in children from rural areas (43.6% vs. 25.4%; p-value=0.012) and those
belonging to poor class as compared to middle and high class (48.4% vs. 38.5%
vs. 21.2%; p-value=0.002), while there was no significant difference across age
(p-value=0.963), gender (p-value=0.971), height (p-value=0.936) and weight
(p-value=1.000) groups.
Conclusions: A substantial proportion of children with anemia had iron deficiency
particularly those from rural areas and lower socioeconomic class which
warrants routine screening of such children in future practice so that timely
identification and iron supplementation may improve the outcome.