Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Dec;20(4):2007-2021.
doi: 10.4314/ahs.v20i4.59.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence and predictors of anemia among children in Ethiopia

Alemu Gebrie  1 , Animut Alebel  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence and predictors of anemia among children in Ethiopia

Alemu Gebrie et al. Afr Health Sci. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Anemia is a wide-spread public health problem characterized by a decrease in hemoglobin concentration and/ or red blood cell volume below an established cut-off value. In developing countries including Ethiopia, about half of children are estimated to be anemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the pooled prevalence of anemia and its predictor factors among children in Ethiopia.

Method: The studies were identified through explicit and exhaustive search of reputable databases (PubMed, Google scholar, Science Direct, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and the hand search of reference lists of previous prevalence studies to retrieve more related articles. Thirty-nine studies were selected based on a comprehensive list of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted using a standardized and pre-tested data extraction checklist, and the analysis was done using STATA 14 statistical software. To assess heterogeneity, the Cochrane Q test statistic and I2 tests were used. In our analysis, considerable heterogeneity was observed. Therefore, a random effect meta-analysis model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of anemia. Moreover, the predictor factors of anemia were examined.

Results: The forest plot of 39 included studies revealed that the overall pooled prevalence of anemia among children in Ethiopia was 34.4% (95% CI: 29.1, 39.7%). Sub-group analysis showed that the highest anemia prevalence was observed in Somali Region with a prevalence of 49.4 % (95% CI: 20.9, 77.8). Also, anemia in children was found to be highest in the age group of less than five years (45.2, 95% CI: 39.6,50.8). Low literacy of families: 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.7), low family socioeconomic status: 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1,3.01.3), having housewife mothers or with no job: 1.5 (95% CI: 1.4, 1.9) and rural residence: 3.3 (95% CI: 1.7,6.1) were found to be predictors of anemia among children.

Conclusion: In this study, one in three children were anemic in Ethiopia. It is a moderate public health problem in children in this study. Low literacy, low socioeconomic status as well as rural residence of the families and helminthic infection of the children were found to be predictors of anemia in the children. Community and school-based interventions should be strengthened to improve the problem.

Keywords: Anemia; Ethiopia; children; meta-analysis; predictors; prevalence; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart diagram and PRISMA checklist describing selection of studies for the systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence and predictors of anemia among children in Ethiopia, 2018 (identified, screened, eligible and included studies). Articles may have been excluded for more than one reason.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of anemia among children in Ethiopia, 2018
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sharman A. Anemia testing in population-based surveys: general information and guidelines for country monitors and program managers. ORC Macro; 2000.
    1. WHO, author. Targets WGN: 2025: Anaemia Policy Brief. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.
    1. Benoist Bd, McLean E, Egll I, Cogswell M. Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993–2005: WHO global database on anaemia. Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993–2005: WHO global database on anaemia. 2008.
    1. University/WHO UNCsFUN, author. Iron deficiency anaemia. Assessment, prevention and control. A guide for programme managers (WHO/NHD/01.3) Geneva: World Health Organization; 2001. pp. 15–31.
    1. Neumann CG, Bwibo NO, Murphy SP, Sigman M, Whaley S, Allen LH, Guthrie D, Weiss RE, Demment MW. Animal source foods improve dietary quality, micronutrient status, growth and cognitive function in Kenyan school children: background, study design and baseline findings. The Journal of Nutrition. 2003;133(11):3941S–3949S. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources