TITLE:
Prevalence and Factors Associated with Iron Deficiency Anemia among School-Age Children in Primary Schools in Burao City, Somaliland, 2020
AUTHORS:
Saed Salim, Yusuf Ahmed, Abdullah Al-Mamari
KEYWORDS:
Anemia, Associated Factors, School-Age Children, Primary Schools, Burao City
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Blood Diseases,
Vol.11 No.3,
September
7,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Anemia is a global public health problem affecting
the majority of the population of the world in both developed and developing
countries with major consequences on human health as well as social and economic
development. It is the world’s second leading cause of disability of the whole
global disease burden. It affects 1.62 billion (24.8%) of the population, among
them, it is affecting 305 million (25.4%) school-age children
(SAC). Objectives: The main objective of this study was to assess the
prevalence and factors associated with anemia among school-age children in
primary schools in Burao city, Somaliland, 2020. Materials & Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study design was done in four primary schools in
Burao, Somaliland. About 285 school-age
children in the age group between 6 - 14 years were selected with a respondent
rate of 93.4%. Random sampling was used to select schools and systemic random
sampling was used to identify children from the selected schools. Socio-demographic
data was collected by using a questionnaire & interviews of respondents in
addition to anthropometric measurements, hemoglobin measurement, and stool
examination. Complete Blood Counting (CBC) was used to determine the mean
corpuscular (kor-PUS-kyu-lar) volume (MCV) and hematocrit (HMC) levels to
detect hemoglobin status of the children. Data was entered and analyzed using
SPSS statistical software for Windows version 21. Anthropometric data was analyzed
using ANTHRO Plus. Bivariate logistic regression and multivariable logistic
regression were used to identify independent predictors of anemia in school
adolescent girls. Statistical significance was set at p Results: A total of 285 school-age children were included in this study. The overall prevalence of
anemia was (23.1%) (CI: 18.1%, 28.1%) with the mean and standard deviation of
(12.7 ± 1.59). Out of the anemic children, 20.4% were mild and 2.3% and 0.4% of
them were moderate and severe, respectively. Children’s from illiterate mothers
(AOR = 2.37; 95% CI: 1.14, 4.94. P-value = 0.020), consuming organ meat less
than once a week (AOR = 2.19; 95% CI: 1.05, 4.43. P-value = 0.036) and having
parasites in stool (AOR = 5.21; 95% CI:
1.10, 24.6. P-value = 0.037) were identified as statistically independent
associated factors with prevalence of anemia in school-age
children’s from Burao, Somaliland. Conclusion: Prevalence of anemia in
Burao city, Somaliland primary schools was a moderate public health problem in
the current study area. Nutrition education, iron folic acid supplementation program,
deworming, good hygiene, and sanitation are playing an important role in the
prevalence of anemia and we recommend to give them more attention from ministry
of education and ministry of health in Somaliland.