Perspectives in Medical Research

Abstract

Background: Anemia prevalence in young children continues to remain over 70% in most parts of India and Asia. In developing countries like India,anemia is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in children under 5 years of age. In public health terms, Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a very important causative factor for childhood anemia.
Materials & Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted on hospitalized children in tertiary care center. All children between 1 month to 18 years of age were admitted in Pediatric ward were taken to the study for 1.5 years study period.
Results: Total number patients admitted in pediatric ward were 1280 out of which 812 were enrolled for the study, out of which 522 patients have been studied in detail as they had iron deficiency anemia. The total prevalence in our study period is 65.64%. Our analysis showed that males outnumbered females with sex ratio of Male: Female is1.76:1. This study shows that the children of 1 month to 5 years is 361 which are 69.1%, children of age 5-12years are 123 which is 23.6%, children of age 12-18years are 38 which is 7.3%. We observed that the most common age group involved is less than 5 years which is significant. The etiology of the hospitalization has been studied, out of which Lower respiratory infections were more common.
Conclusion: This study revealed that the prevalence of IDA in under 5 years is more common than in other age groups. Children with anemia and those with iron deficiency anemia were found to be more susceptible to lower respiratory tract infections.