Majallah-i ̒Ilmī-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Simnān (May 2008)
Prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in the afghan refuge Semnan camp
Abstract
Introduction: Anemia is one of the main problems of the public health in the world. The mostreason for its high prevalence is low iron diet which in progressive cases has notable complications.Due to high prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among Afghanistan inhabitant, the aim of this studywas to determine the prevalence of anemia in a afghan refugee camp in Semnan.Material and Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 321 persons in theafghan refugee Semnan camp in 2004. A blood sample (two ml in EDTA coagulant) was taken fromeach person for performing CBC and HbA2 test and another five ml blood collected in a tube test formeasuring serum iron. MCV less than 80 femtoliter and serum iron less than 35 μg /dl in female and60 μg/dl in male and HbA2 less than 3.5% were considered as iron deficiency anemia.Results: Our results indicated that 29 cases (9%) including 12 male cases (8.6%) and 17 femalecases (9.4%) showed an iron deficiency anemia among 321 afghan refugee.Conclusion: Low prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in the afghan refugee camp with comparedto Afghanistan residents may indicate well nutrition of Afghan people who live in the afghan refugecamp of Semnan.
