Formerly Ibrahim Medical College Journal
Affiliations: Haematology and Blood Transfusion Department, National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria
Affiliations: Laboratory Department, Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria
Affiliations: Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Babcock University, Nigeria
Affiliations: Family Medicine Department, General Hospital Lagos, Lagos State Health service commission
Affiliations: Department of Haematology and Immunology, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo State, Nigeria
Affiliations: Compliance and Laboratory Department, Akesis Health, Abuja Nigeria
Affiliations: Public Health Department, University of Central Nicaragua, Nicaragua
Affiliations: Department of Research and Development, Fescosof Data Solutions, Nigeria
Affiliations: Grant Management and Laboratory Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMOH)
Affiliations: School of Business (OHS), Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Background and objective: Children in the developing world are vulnerable to iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) because they grow fast and consume diets low in iron. Thus, this study assessed anemia in children aged 6 - 12 years in rural Nigeria, using hematological indices and serum ferritin as diagnostic tools.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in two primary schools in Kumin Masara Kataf village in Kaduna state, Nigeria. School children aged 6 - 12 years were enrolled. Personal information and laboratory data were collected. Hemoglobin and serum ferritin concentration was estimated to determine anemia and iron status. Data analysis was done using IBM-SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA, version-25.0.
Results: A total of 191 school-age children aged 6 - 12 years were enrolled in the study. The overall serum ferritin was 16.51±5.20 mg/L, but the children aged 6 - 9 years had significantly (p<0.05) higher serum ferritin (17.23±5.57 mg/L), compared to children aged 10-12 years (15.62±4.62). The mean hemoglobin concentration and serum ferritin were significantly (p<0.05) more elevated among males (11.17±2.53g/dl and 19.01±5.06 mg/L, respectively) than females (10.18±2.46 g/dl and 14.03±4.02 mg/L respectively).The overall rate of anemia was 51.3%, while IDA was 70.4% (69/98). Iron deficiency was present in 47.3% (44/93) children. Also, anemia was significantly (p<0.001) more prevalent among females (66.7%), than males (35.8%), and a higher proportion of females (87.5%) than males (26.2%) were iron deficient (p<0.05), but more males (44.1%) had IDA, p<0.05.
Conclusion: This study found a high prevalence of IDA and ID among rural school children in Nigeria. It is recommended that healthcare providers focus more on preventing IDA right before childhood.
IMC J Med Sci. 2023. 17(1): 006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55010/imcjms.17.006
*Correspondence: Andrew Nuhu Yashim, Haematology and Blood Transfusion Department, National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria. Email: yashimnuhuandrew@gmail.com
