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. 2017 Jul 3:17:10.
doi: 10.1186/s12878-017-0081-0. eCollection 2017.

Prevalence of Anaemia and Associated Risk Factors among Children in North-western Uganda: A Cross Sectional Study

Ismail Dragon Legason  1 , Alex Atiku  2 , Ronald Ssenyonga  3 , Peter Olupot-Olupot  4 , John Banson Barugahare  1   5
Affiliations

Prevalence of Anaemia and Associated Risk Factors among Children in North-western Uganda: A Cross Sectional Study

Ismail Dragon Legason et al. BMC Hematol. .

Abstract

Background: Despite the public health significance of anaemia in African children, its broader and often preventable risk factors remain largely under described. This study investigated, for the first time, the prevalence of childhood anaemia and its risk factors in an urban setting in Uganda.

Methods: A total of 342 children were enrolled. Venous blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes and analyzed using Symex 500i (Symex Corp. Japan). Stool and urine samples were analyzed according to established standard methods. Anthropometric indicators were calculated according to the CDC/WHO 1978 references. Ethical approval was granted.

Results: Categorically, the prevalence of anaemia was; 37.2, 33.3 and 11.8% among children aged 1-5 years, 6-11 years and 12-14 years respectively. Overall anaemia prevalence was 34.4%. The risk of anaemia was higher among males than females [(OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.8, 2.1), P = .22]. Malaria was associated with a 1.5 times risk of anaemia though not statistically significant in the multivariate analysis (P = .19). Maternal parity <5 (P = .002), and stunting [(OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.3, 4.7), P = .004] were positively associated with anaemia. There was a positive correlation between household size and income (Pearson X2 = 22.96; P = .001), implying that large families were of higher socioeconomic status.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that anaemia is more prevalent in the under-5 age. The risk factors are stunting and low maternal parity. Interventions that address nutritional deficiencies in both pre-school and school children are recommended. Malaria and helminthiasis control measures counter the risk of anaemia. Further studies are required to investigate the association between maternal parity and anaemia found in this study.

Keywords: Anaemia; Children; North-western Uganda; Prevalence; Risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was obtained from the Research and Ethics Committee of Uganda Christian University. Community consent was also obtained at different stages starting from the office of the town clerk, municipal health officer, division authorities and local council; one chairperson for each selected village. Written informed consent was obtained after explaining to the parents/guardian of participants, in the language they best understand, the purpose of the study, procedures, and samples required, any benefits, risks and discomforts involved in the study. Privacy and confidentiality were maintained at each step of the study process. HIV testing was done after obtaining consent from the parent of the prospective enrolee and results relayed in accordance with established ministry of health guidelines.

Consent for publication

Note applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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