Molla Abebaw, Egata Gudina, Mesfin Firehiwot, Arega Mikyas, Getacher Lemma
School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mizan-Tepi University, Mizan Teferi, Ethiopia.
School of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.
J Nutr Metab. 2020 Dec 17;2020:2956129. doi: 10.1155/2020/2956129. eCollection 2020.
Anemia is a problem of both the developed and developing world, which occurs in all age groups of the population. Half of the anemia cases are due to iron deficiency and affects physical growth and mental development. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of information about anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6 to 23 months in low-income countries like Ethiopia.
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6-23 months.
A community-based cross-sectional study design was used among 531 mothers/caregivers-children pairs in Debre Berhan Town, North Shewa, Ethiopia, from February 1 to March 2, 2018. The cluster sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Sociodemographic data were collected from mothers/caregivers using pretested structured questionnaires. Hemoglobin levels were measured using a HemoCue analyzer machine (HemoCue® Hb 301, Ängelholm, Sweden). All relevant data were described using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, proportions, mean, and standard deviation. Odds ratio and 95% CI were estimated using binary logistic regression to measure the strength of the association between anemia and explanatory variables. The level of statistical significance was declared at < 0.05.
The overall prevalence of anemia was 47.5% (95% CI: 43.1-51.4%) of which 18.3% were mildly anemic, 25% were moderately anemic, and 4.1% were severely anemic. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, household food insecurity (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.6-4.5), unmet minimum dietary diversity (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.4-4.3), stunting (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.3), and underweight (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4-5.4) positively associated with anemia while having ≥4 antenatal care visits (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9) and met minimum meal frequency (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.14-0.45) had a protective effect against anemia.
Generally, the study showed that anemia was a severe public health problem among infants and young children in the study setting. Antenatal care visit, meal frequency, dietary diversity, underweight, stunting, and food insecurity significantly associated with anemia. Therefore, efforts should be made to strengthen infant and young child feeding practices and antenatal care utilization and ensure household food security, thereby improving the nutritional status of children.
贫血是发达国家和发展中国家都存在的问题，在各年龄组人群中均有发生。半数贫血病例是由缺铁引起的，会影响身体发育和智力发展。然而，在像埃塞俄比亚这样的低收入国家，关于6至23个月婴幼儿贫血及相关因素的信息匮乏。
本研究旨在评估6 - 23个月婴幼儿贫血的患病率及相关因素。
2018年2月1日至3月2日，在埃塞俄比亚北谢瓦德布雷伯汉镇对531对母亲/照料者 - 儿童进行了一项基于社区的横断面研究设计。采用整群抽样技术选择研究参与者。通过预先测试的结构化问卷从母亲/照料者处收集社会人口学数据。使用HemoCue分析仪（HemoCue® Hb 301，瑞典安吉尔霍尔姆）测量血红蛋白水平。所有相关数据均使用频率、比例、均值和标准差等描述性统计进行描述。使用二元逻辑回归估计比值比和95%置信区间，以衡量贫血与解释变量之间关联的强度。统计学显著性水平设定为<0.05。
贫血的总体患病率为47.5%（95%置信区间：43.1 - 51.4%），其中轻度贫血占18.3%，中度贫血占25%，重度贫血占4.1%。在多变量逻辑回归分析中，家庭粮食不安全（比值比 = 2.7，95%置信区间：1.6 - 4.5）、未达到最低饮食多样性（比值比 = 2.5，95%置信区间：1.4 - 4.3）、发育迟缓（比值比 = 2.3，95%置信区间：1.2 - 4.3）和体重不足（比值比 = 2.7，95%置信区间：1.4 - 5.4）与贫血呈正相关，而进行≥4次产前检查（比值比 = 0.5，95%置信区间：0.3 - 0.9）和达到最低进餐频率（比值比 = 0.25，95%置信区间：0.14 - 0.45）对贫血有保护作用。
总体而言，该研究表明贫血在研究地区的婴幼儿中是一个严重的公共卫生问题。产前检查、进餐频率、饮食多样性、体重不足、发育迟缓和粮食不安全与贫血显著相关。因此，应努力加强婴幼儿喂养实践和产前检查的利用，并确保家庭粮食安全，从而改善儿童的营养状况。
