Iron deficiency anemia in pediatric children at Kalmunai North Base Hospital, Sri Lanka

Seyid Mohamed Moulana Seyida Afreen 1 2, Muneeb Muhamed Musthafa 1 * , Rajavarthani Sanjeev 3, Somasundaram Norman Roshanth 4
More Detail
1 Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil, Sri Lanka
2 Al-Manar central College, Kalmunai, Sri Lanka
3 Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health-Care Sciences, Eastern University, Sri Lanka, Batticalo, Sri Lanka
4 Pediatric unit, Base Hospital, Kalmunai North, Sri Lanka
* Corresponding Author
J CLIN MED KAZ, Volume 21, Issue 1, pp. 74-79. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/14263
OPEN ACCESS 912 Views 688 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, Dr. Muneeb and Dr. Rajavarthani; methodology, Mrs. Afreen and Dr. Rajavarthani; validation, Dr. Muneeb and Dr. Rajavarthani; formal analysis, Mrs. Afreen, Dr.Muneeb, and Dr. Rajavarthani; investigation, Mrs. Afreen; resources, Mrs.Afreen and Dr. Roshanth; data curation, Mrs. Afreen; writing – original draft preparation, Mrs. Afreen; writing – review and editing, Dr. Rajavarthani and Dr. Muneeb; visualization, Mrs. Afreen; supervision, Dr. Muneeb, Dr.Rajavarthani and Dr. Roshanth; project administration, Dr. Muneeb, Dr. Rajavarthani and Dr. Roshanth; funding acquisition, Mrs. Afreen. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study's aim was to estimate association between the iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and associated risk factors among children at Kalmunai north in Sri Lanka during COVID-19. Material and Methods: During the pandemic, 101 children aged between 1and 14 years were involved in the cross sectional study. Hemoglobin levels, serum ferritin and C-recactive protein (CRP) were measured to determine anemia. Additionally, dietary intake, socioeconomic status, and demographic information were collected through interviews with the caregivers. Chi-square tests and Pearson correlation were used to investigate connections between IDA and other factors such as demographic characteristics and eating habits. In addition, a multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of IDA. Results: 7.9% of children were found to be anemic at Kalmunai Base Hospital. Low dietary iron consumption was revealed as a significant risk factor for IDA. Meat, liver, fish, chicken, fresh milk, dark green leafy vegetables, and black tea were found to be independent predictors of IDA, explaining 57.7% of the variation in IDA frequency (R2 value = 57.7%; P< 0.001). Consuming dark green leafy vegetables, poultry, liver, beef, and fish are linked to a lower incidence of IDA in children. On the other hand, a higher risk of IDA appears to be associated with increased consumption of fresh milk and black tea. In conclusion, this study focuses on Dietary factors, especially the consumption of particular foods, were found to be significant contributors of IDA, even if demographic parameters did not differ significantly from IDA. Strategies to increase iron intake and dietary diversity, particularly among young children, are critical in the fight against IDA.
Keywords: Pediatric children, Haemoglobin, Iron deficiency anaemia and Dietary habits, Iron rich food

CITATION

Afreen SMMS, Musthafa MM, Sanjeev R, Roshanth SN. Iron deficiency anemia in pediatric children at Kalmunai North Base Hospital, Sri Lanka. J CLIN MED KAZ. 2024;21(1):74-9. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/14263

REFERENCES

  • East P, Lozoff B, Blanco E, Delker E, Delva J, Encina P et al. Infant iron deficiency, child affect, and maternal unresponsiveness: Testing the long-term effects of functional isolation. Dev Psychol. 2017; 53(12): 2233–44. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000385.
  • Mettananda S, Williams S. Clinical and laboratory evaluation of childhood anaemia. Sri Lanka J Child Heal. 2020; 49(1): 64–70. https://doi.org/10.4038/sljch.v49i1.8901.
  • Singh S, Parihar S. Prevalence of anemia in under five-year-old children: a hospital-based study. Int J Contemp Pediatr. 2019; 6(2): 842–7. https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20190740.
  • El-mansoury A. Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among children under the age of 5 years in paediatric hospitals-Benghazi , Libya. J Heal Sci Nurs. 2020; 3(6): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.22259/2639-3581.0301004.
  • World Health Organization. Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) Guidance to Support Country Implementation Who. 2017. 44 p. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/255415/9;jsessionid=B309C8C56E5EEFA24FA2F606422AB847?sequence=1.
  • Uragoda C., Goonaratna C, Silva J. Anaemia in children : are we using the correct prevention strategies? Ceylon Med J. 2017; 62(2): 73–6. https://doi.org/10.4038/cmj.v62i2.8469.
  • Melbye H, Hvidsten D, Holm A, Nordbø SA, Brox J. The course of C-reactive protein response in untreated upper respiratory tract infection. 2004: 653–8.
  • WHO. Haemoglobin concentrations for the diagnosis of anaemia and assessment of severity. World Health Organization. 2011. 1–6 p. Available from: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&btnG=Search&q=intitle:Haemoglobin+concentrations+for+the+diagnosis+of+anaemia+and+assessment+of+severity#1.
  • KDHS. Kenya. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. National Council for Population and Development, Central Bureau of Statistics and Ministry of National Planning and Development, Nairobi, Kenya. 2008. 455 p.
  • Khan JR, Awan N, Misu F. Determinants of anemia among 6-59 months aged children in Bangladesh: Evidence from nationally representative data. BMC Pediatr. 2016; 16(1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-015-0536-z.
  • Rashid M, Flora M, Moni M, Akhter A, Mahmud Z. Reviewing Anemia and Iron Folic Acid Supplementation Program in Bangladesh - A Special Article. Bangladesh Med J. 2010; 39(3): 5–10.
  • Enid A. Meso level situational analysis of nutritional status of children and prevalence of anaemia among children, adolescent girls and pregnant women in selected districts of India. 2015. 1–542 p.
  • Hussein MD, Mohamed S. Prevalence of anaemia in preschool children in Karma Albalad area, Northern State, Sudan. East Mediterr Heal J. 2014; 20(1): 33–8. https://doi.org/10.26719/2014.20.1.33.
  • Agbaire PO, Eoyan OO. Nutritional and antinutritional levels of some local vegetables from Delta State, Nigeria. African J Food Sci. 2012; 6(1): 8–11. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJFS111.175.
  • Jackson J, Williams R, McEvoy M, MacDonald-Wicks L, Patterson A. Is higher consumption of animal flesh foods associated with better iron status among adults in developed countries? A systematic review. Nutrients. 2016; 8(2): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8020089.
  • Djokic D, Drakulovic MB, Radojicic Z, Crncevic Radovic L, Rakic L, Kocic S, et al. Risk factors associated with anemia among Serbian school-age children 7-14 years old: Results of the first national health survey. Hippokratia. 2010; 14(4): 252–60.
  • Kaya M, Pehlivan E, Aydoğdu İ, Genç M, Güneş G. Iron Deficiency Anaemia Among Students of Two Primary Schools at Different Socioeconomic Conditions in Malatya, Turkey. Indian J Pediatr. 2002; 69 (7): 60716.
  • Timothy AM, Lynch SR, Cook JD. Inhibition iron absorption. Am J Clin Nutr. 1983; 37: 416–20. Available from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.endeavour.edu.au:2048/eds/detail?sid=204ba0a7-cbb1-4777-bd0c-d3513ddb194d%40sessionmgr10&vid=15&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3D#db=mdc&AN=6402915.
  • Hallberg L, Hulthén L. Prediction of dietary iron absorption: An algorithm for calculating absorption and bioavailability of dietary iron. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000; 71(5): 1147–60. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/71.5.1147.
  • Hallberg L, Rossander-Hultén L, Brune M, Gleerup A. Bioavailability in man of iron in human milk and cow’s milk in relation to their calcium contents. Pediatr Res. 1992; 31(5): 524–7. https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199205000-00024.