Child Health and Development Centre, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
Transfus Med. 2023 Jun;33(3):213-220. doi: 10.1111/tme.12953. Epub 2023 Jan 26.
Blood donation is known to result in iron deficiency (ID), with a higher prevalence in females. There is little published data on the frequency of ID among blood donors in resource-poor settings. We determined the prevalence of ID in blood donors in Uganda.
We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service, Kampala from December 2021 to February 2022. A sample of 500 whole blood donors was enrolled. The evaluation included demographic characteristics, donation history, nutritional history, complete blood count, and serum ferritin. The primary outcome was the proportion of donors with serum ferritin <15 μg/L.
The median (IQR) serum ferritin was 25 (12-47) μg/L and 89 (52-133) μg/L among female and male donors respectively. The prevalence of iron deficiency (serum ferritin <15 μg/L) among donating individuals was 11.5% (8.7-14.9), while among low haemoglobin deferrals, 61.5% (50.9-71.1). The prevalence was high among females [33.0% (27.9-38.6)] compared with males [2.5% (1.0-5.8)], but even higher among females younger than 24 years [35.4% (29.2-42.1)]. Factors associated with ID (adjusted odds ratio, 95% Cl, and significance) were; female donors (15.81, 5.17, 48.28, p < 0.001) and a high RDW (6.89, 2.99, 15.90, p < 0.001). We found a moderate correlation between serum ferritin and RDW (r = -0.419 and -0.487 for males and females respectively).
Iron deficiency is common among blood donors in Uganda, affecting mostly young female donors. Considerations to adopt evidence-based strategies to prevent and manage ID among blood donors-such as serum ferritin monitoring and iron supplementation are highly recommended.
众所周知，献血会导致缺铁（ID），女性缺铁的患病率更高。在资源匮乏的环境中，关于献血者缺铁频率的发表数据很少。本研究旨在确定乌干达献血者缺铁的患病率。
本研究为 2021 年 12 月至 2022 年 2 月在坎帕拉的乌干达血液服务中心进行的描述性横断面研究。招募了 500 名全血献血者。评估包括人口统计学特征、献血史、营养史、全血细胞计数和血清铁蛋白。主要结局是血清铁蛋白<15μg/L 的献血者比例。
女性和男性献血者的中位（IQR）血清铁蛋白分别为 25（12-47）μg/L 和 89（52-133）μg/L。个体献血者缺铁（血清铁蛋白<15μg/L）的患病率为 11.5%（8.7-14.9），而低血红蛋白延迟献血者的患病率为 61.5%（50.9-71.1）。女性的患病率较高[33.0%（27.9-38.6）]，而男性的患病率较低[2.5%（1.0-5.8）]，但 24 岁以下的女性患病率更高[35.4%（29.2-42.1）]。与 ID 相关的因素（调整后的优势比、95%置信区间和显著性）为：女性献血者（15.81、5.17、48.28、p<0.001）和高红细胞分布宽度（RDW）（6.89、2.99、15.90、p<0.001）。我们发现血清铁蛋白与 RDW 之间存在中度相关性（男性 r=−0.419，女性 r=−0.487）。
乌干达献血者缺铁较为常见，主要影响年轻女性献血者。强烈建议考虑采用基于证据的策略，如血清铁蛋白监测和铁补充，以预防和管理献血者缺铁。
