Objective: To assess the anemia among children in Albaha and to recognize the morphological and hematological features of anemia in them.
Methodology: This retrospective study was conducted in Albaha region, Saudi Arabia using the existing data since 2020. The study included data on children aged 0-69 months. Morphological criteria included high RDW, and low RBCs, Hgb, Hct, MCV, and MCHC. The data were analyzed by the SPSS, version 24. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied including averages, independent t-tests, and univariate and bivariate binary logistic regression.
Results: Average age of children was 46.4 months, representing both genders. The prevalence of anemia was 16.7%, 14.7%, and 14.1% for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, respectively. The predominant type of anemia was microcytic hypochromic anemia, affecting 81.4% of males and 14.1% of females. There were insignificant correlations between age, or gender, with anemia status.
Conclusion: Microcytic hypochromic anemia was the most prevalent type among young children in this study. It also emerges the necessity for further assessment to confirm the predominance of microcytic hypochromic anemia among young children in Saudi Arabia in regional contexts.
Key words: Anemia, children, prevalence, morphological characteristics, hematological characteristics.
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