Study of the anemia status in children attending a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a pathological condition in which the blood hemoglobin concentration is reduced to a low level, due to deficiency of one or more nutrients. The nutrients required for the synthesis of hemoglobin are iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12. Anemia is one of the major global public health problems in the early stages of childhood, mainly in developing countries. Aim and Objectives: We aimed to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors in pediatric subjects. Material and Methods: Our study was conducted on children aged between 1 to 12 years attending the pediatric department in our hospital. A total of 200 children were selected as cases who fulfilled WHO criteria for anemia and another 200 normal healthy children of the same demographic data were recruited as controls. The serum ferritin values were compared between normal healthy children and children with various types of anemias. All control and patient samples were tested for Serum Iron, Ferritin, TIBC, Vitamin B12, and Folic acid. Results: Iron deficiency anemia (46%) was the most common type followed by megaloblastic anemia (20%), thalassemia (19%), sickle cell anemia (9%), and other causes of anemia (6.0%). Conclusion: Anemia among pediatric population needs to be addressed immediately in the form of supplementation and health education in a regular manner to prevent adverse health effects in children.

Keywords

• serum ferritin
• iron deficiency anemia
• total iron binding capacity
• thalassemia
• sickle cell anemia