Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia among Preschool Children in Alexandria | ||||
| Journal of High Institute of Public Health | ||||
| Article 1, Volume 30, Issue 4, October 2000, Page 579-590 | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jhiph.2000.243800 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
| Essam H. Ghoneim1; Mona H. Ahmed2 | ||||
| 1Central Lab for Food and Feed, Agriculture Research Center, Egypt | ||||
| 2Department of Biostatistics, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Anemia is defined as a reduction of the red blood cell value or hemoglobin concentration below the range for age, sex and locality. Generally less than 11-gm/ dl at ages 1-4 years is acceptable cut off value for the diagnosis of anemia. A high prevalence of anemia [48.6%] was found among 214 preschool children 2-4 years old, randomly selected from three nurseries representing different socio-economic levels in Alexandria. All children were subjected to anthropometric and laboratory examinations, including blood hemoglobin and lead. Hereditary anemia and chronic infection were excluded. Girls constituted 52.8 % and 47.2 % were boys. Hemoglobin levels ranged from 8.2 to 12.8 g/dl with a mean of 10.93 ± 0.90 g/dl. A significant higher risk of anemia was observed among younger preschoolers [24-<36 months] compared to older preschoolers [36 months and above]. Also significant regional variation in the prevalence of anemia was observed and the risk of anemia increased with increase in blood lead level. These data showed that nutritional anemia constitute a major health problem among preschool children in Alexandria. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Iron; Anemia; Preschool Children; Alexandria | ||||
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