A hematological survey of preschool children of the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Objective: Anemia is common worldwide, particularly in developing countries including states of the Arabian Peninsular. The purpose of this study was to produce a hematological profile of preschool national children of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: From April 2000 to October 2000, a cross-sectional community clinic-based capillary blood survey was carried out on a convenience sample of 1-5-year-old Emirati children attending a Primary Health Care Center in Al-Ain, UAE. Those children with capillary hemoglobin (Hb) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values below predetermined cutoffs were offered venous blood hematological workup. A random sample of children with values above those cutoffs were also offered the same workup. All venous blood sampling was completed by May 2001.

Results: Four hundred and ninety six children were surveyed. The mean Hb and adjusted MCV rose with increasing age but were not significantly different by gender. Two hundred and sixty-two children with Hb or MCV below the cutoffs and 50 children above the cutoffs were venous blood tested. The estimated abnormalities for this population of children were as follows: anemia 36.1%; iron deficiency anemia 9.9%; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency 9.1%; sickle cell trait 4.6%; and beta thalassemia 8.7%. There was likely to be a high prevalence of alpha thalassemia.

Conclusion: Rates of anemia and iron deficiency anemia in this population of children were consistent with other reports from the region, but higher than in developed countries. Hereditary red cell abnormalities were common, particularly G6PD deficiency. The gene frequency of alpha thalassemia is likely to be high but requires DNA studies.