Prevalence And Determinants Of Iron-Deficiency Anaemia Among Children 6-23 Months Attending Thika Level-5 Hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

It is evident that iron in childhood is key for proper health and cognitive development as it

is required for academic and work productivity in adulthood. Intake of iron rich foods,

sanitation, health, economic and socio-demographic factors are principal determinants of

Iron- deficiency anaemia (IDA) in children. There is paucity of data concerning the

prevalence of IDA in children aged 6-23 months since most studies focus mainly on the

selection of iron rich foods as criteria for determining those at risk of IDA. The age limit

in most of these studies is 5 years and above. There is limited scientific data on the

prevalence and determinants of IDA in children aged 6-23 months old in Thika Level 5

Hospital attending well baby clinic (WBC). A cross-sectional analytical study design was

adopted for the study in the month of May 2013. The study targeted a sample size of 241

children selected by systematic random sampling method. Data were collected by

researcher administered interview schedule given to mothers or caregivers of the children

attending the WBC at Thika Level 5 Hospital. This was followed by a collection of venous

blood samples from children for hemoglobin, red cell width and mean cell volume

determination conducted by a trained laboratory technician. The study participants were

also followed up to their homes at a later date to quantify the utensils used to measure food.

The data were cleaned coded and analyzed using SPPS Version 20. Data on dietary intake

was analyzed using Nutri-survey statistical package (2008) and ENA for smart (2008) was

used to analyze anthropometry. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the daily intake

of nutrients, sanitation, economic and socio-demographic factors. IDA status was based on

hemoglobin levels while predictors of complementary feeding practice were considered an

indicator of proper food intake. Chi-square test was used to determine the relationship

between IDA with dietary intake of iron-rich foods and complementary feeding practices.

Binary logistic regression was used to test the significance between IDA with malaria,

helminthic infestation and immunization status. The level of significance of accepting the

null hypotheses was