New Risk Factors Defined for Anemia Among School-Going Children in Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Anemia, “a hidden hunger” is among one the major nutritional public health problems across the globe affecting both developed and developing countries. In children, it results in impaired cognitive performance, behavioral, linguistic development and scholastic achievement. The study aimed to estimate the frequency and new risk factors of anemia in school-going children of Peshawar. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2020 to January 2022. A sample of 240 children between the ages of 5-15 years from eight different schools, were selected. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 for windows. Chi-square test was used to see association between different variables. p≤0.05 was taken as a minimum level of significance. Results: Among a total of 240 school-going children, 93 (38.75%) were anemic and 147 (61.2%) were non-anemic. The anemia prevalence was higher in female children and younger age groups. The percentage of anemic children was significantly higher who don’t take nutritional supplements (19.7%) compared to those who do (47.5%) (p˂0.001). The anemic children with worm infestation history, were significantly higher (51.6%) in number compared to (25.4%) without infestation (p˂0.001). Majority (66.6%) of children from lower socioeconomic groups were anemic (p˂0.001). Conclusion: Children, school-going, and vegetarian were found significantly anemic (p<0.001). Female children were more prone to anemia than male children. Keywords: Anemia, School Going Children, Pakistan.