Prevalence of anemia among preschool age children

Abstract EN

Objective: to evaluate the prevalence of anemia in general and microcytic hypochromic anemia among preschool-age children.

design: a retrospective cohort study.

setting: three government hospitals and two private hospitals, abha and khamis mushait, kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

method: the study population included all children aged 6 months to 59 months seen in the emergency room (ER) and had a complete blood count.

hemoglobin level (HB), mean corpuscular volume (mcv) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were estimated.

result: the study included 2,415 children aged 6 to 59 months with a mean of 29.7 and a standard deviation of ±17.9 months.

more than half of them were males, 1,446 (59.9%), and the majority were Saudis, 1,921 (79.5%).

the prevalence of anemia was 26.4%; mostly mild, 387 (16%), or moderate, 232 (9.6%).

severe anemia was found in 19 (0.8%) children.

microcytic hypochromic anemia was found in 679 (26.9%).

conclusion: anemia is still a public health problem among preschool children in southwest Saudi Arabia, despite the improvement in socio-economic status.

further research is recommended to evaluate the underlying factors, particularly nutritional habits.