Evaluation of the Prevalence and Determinants of Iron Deficiency Anemia in a Sample of Preschool-Aged Children in Isfahan City, Iran

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a public health problem and the most common cause of anemia worldwide. The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia is 17-75 percent in preschool children in the Middle East. Early diagnosis and proper treatment of disease in initial stages can result in normal physical and mental growth of the children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in 2-6-year-old Iranian children based on their serum ferritin level.
This cross-sectional study evaluated 257 children with age of 2-6 years. Data about age, gender, weight, and height of participants were recorded; the serum levels of hemoglobin and ferritin were evaluated; and the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was calculated.
Findings: 257 children with mean age of 3.90 ± 1.47 years were assessed that 49.8% were boy. There was not significant relationship between iron deficiency anemia and gender. Ferritin level had inverse association with weight (P = 0.007) and 2-5-year-old children had less level of ferritin (P = 0.002). Iron deficiency anemia was more prevalent in children with higher body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.010).
Iron deficiency anemia is prevalent in children and increases by ages. More researches to investigate the optimal intervention for treating and preventing this type of anemia are needed.